If you’re still reeling from Yellowjackets’ explosive Season 3 finale, you’re definitely not alone. That final scene? Chills. And now, with the show officially renewed for a fourth season, fans are buzzing louder than ever about what’s next for our favorite (and, let’s be honest, slightly terrifying) stranded soccer team—and their adult counterparts.
Release Date Rumors: When Will Season 4 Hit Screens?
So far, Showtime and Paramount+ haven’t dropped a release date for Season 4, but here’s what we do know. The renewal was confirmed on May 20, 2025, about a month after Season 3 wrapped up in April. Looking at past premiere dates—Season 1 in November 2021, Season 2 in March 2023, and Season 3 in February 2025—it’s clear that the timeline’s been a little unpredictable. Season 2 and 3 had a bigger gap due to the 2023 Hollywood strikes.
If things stay on track this time, there’s a good chance we’ll see Season 4 hit screens sometime in late 2026 or early 2027. That gives the team enough breathing room for the usual filming and post-production, plus all the meticulous, layered storytelling Yellowjackets is known for.
Cast Updates: Who’s Returning?
While no official cast list has been dropped yet, a lot of familiar faces are expected to return. Melanie Lynskey and Sophie Nélisse (adult and teen Shauna) are all but guaranteed, especially after Shauna’s sinister evolution into the “antler queen.” Christina Ricci and Samantha Hanratty (Misty), Tawny Cypress and Jasmin Savoy Brown (Taissa), and Courtney Eaton (teen Lottie) are also likely sticking around.
Simone Kessell’s adult Lottie sadly didn’t survive the season, but with Yellowjackets, death doesn’t always mean a final goodbye—flashbacks and hallucinations are part of the show’s DNA. Juliette Lewis’ Natalie, for example, skipped Season 3 but could very well return in some spectral form, just like Jackie did in earlier seasons.
Newer characters like Ashley Sutton’s Hannah (whose fate was left dangling), and Elijah Wood’s ever-mysterious Walter, are big question marks—but don’t be surprised if they play major roles going forward.
Plot Details: What’s Next for the Yellowjackets?
Season 3 left us on a massive cliffhanger. Natalie managed to get a signal out using the plane’s black box and a satellite phone—her desperate “Can you hear me?” was finally answered. Is rescue finally coming? Maybe. But showrunner Ashley Lyle has already warned that the girls are “not out of the woods yet.” Literally and metaphorically.
Season 4 is likely to cover the final stretch of their brutal 18-month survival in the wilderness. The second winter is coming, and so is a deepening divide among the survivors. Shauna’s dark rise to power, seen when she manipulates Mari’s death (yep, she was the infamous “pit girl”), suggests a growing rift with those like Natalie and Misty who still cling to hope of being rescued.
Even once that rescue does come, don’t expect sunshine and healing. The showrunners have hinted that they’ll dig into the aftermath—what happens when the girls return home, carrying the horrors of what they did to survive?
The Present-Day Timeline
The adult timeline is just as tangled. With the deaths of adult Van, Coach Ben, and Lottie, the core group is fractured again. Shauna’s growing tension with Melissa (played by Hilary Swank) adds another layer of instability, and Walter’s cryptic plotting could become the wild card that changes everything.
What’s still unclear is how the adult survivors will move forward as their past closes in on them. The show’s creepy psychological edge is likely to deepen, with the lines between what’s real and imagined continuing to blur—especially with Lottie’s visions still casting a long shadow over the group.
