How ‘Yellowjackets’ ’90s Cast Compares to Their Present Day Counterparts: Melanie Lynskey, Sophie Nelisse and More

Credit: Lorenzo Agius/SHOWTIME

How ‘Yellowjackets’ '90s Cast Compares to Their Present Day Counterparts: Melanie Lynskey, Sophie Nelisse and More

Like looking in a mirror! Yellowjackets follows a group of survivors — in the past and present — after a plane crash leaves them stranded in the Canadian wilderness. The critically-acclaimed Showtime series, which debuted in November 2021, goes back and forth between the teenage girls who have to figure out a way to survive in 1996 and the aftermath of their return two decades later in 2021. Actors including Sophie Nélisse and Melanie Lynskey, Jasmin Savoy Brown and Tawny Cypress, Sammi Hanratty and Christina Ricci and Sophie Thatcher and Juliette Lewis were paired off to deliver their respective takes on their shared character. At the time, Ricci broke down her approach to playing the adult version of Misty, telling Interview Magazine in November 2021, "It made me angrier. I know we talked about how we were going to play Misty differently — I would use a lot of passive aggression, and you would channel the rage that comes from 40 years of being dismissed." Hanratty, for her part, praised the collaboration between her and the Wednesday star. "I’m just lucky that I got to work with you. You have the empathy and compassion needed to play a character like this — you’re not judging her," she said to her costar in the joint interview. Ricci later discussed how she found a way to be creative after taking on the role of Misty. “It's really different with television because it's not the same as with film where basically a character's written, and then the character's kind of handed over to you as the actor. You kind of get to create whoever you really want within the parameters of the writing,” the Addams Family star exclusively told Us Weekly in October 2022. “What I'm looking at is — is the character something I haven't seen before? Will I be getting to grow as an actor? I just always want to do things that I feel are original and unexplored in some way. I mean, obviously, almost every aspect of human nature has been explored at this point by art, but you know, there are tiny little differences that can be made to make something new.” She continued: “I like doing TV because you kind of get to spend a longer time with the character, and if you do like the character, then that's fantastic and great. … I’m right now growing and learning and changing and developing new muscles. And I do like that about TV that even at my age when I've been doing this for 35 years, it's forcing me to grow and develop new skills.” Meanwhile, Lynskey gushed about getting to work alongside Nélisse to bring Shauna to life. “Sophie has more directness in her manner. I feel like I’m quite apologetic," she told Collider in January 2022. "My own sort of energy is not quite as direct and confident as Sophie’s, and it was something that I really loved about her and I thought, ‘This is an interesting thing to try to have Shauna be a little bit more good with eye contact, a little bit stronger, not so sort of [hunched] with her body, but a bit more confident with her body.’ Because there was something in Sophie that’s like an inherent strength, which I think is really nice for the character.” Scroll down to see how the Yellowjackets '90s cast compares to their adult counterparts:

Credit: Lorenzo Agius/SHOWTIME

How ‘Yellowjackets’ '90s Cast Compares to Their Present Day Counterparts: Melanie Lynskey, Sophie Nelisse and More

Like looking in a mirror! Yellowjackets follows a group of survivors — in the past and present — after a plane crash leaves them stranded in the Canadian wilderness. The critically-acclaimed Showtime series, which debuted in November 2021, goes back and forth between the teenage girls who have to figure out a way to survive in 1996 and the aftermath of their return two decades later in 2021. Actors including Sophie Nélisse and Melanie Lynskey, Jasmin Savoy Brown and Tawny Cypress, Sammi Hanratty and Christina Ricci and Sophie Thatcher and Juliette Lewis were paired off to deliver their respective takes on their shared character. At the time, Ricci broke down her approach to playing the adult version of Misty, telling Interview Magazine in November 2021, "It made me angrier. I know we talked about how we were going to play Misty differently — I would use a lot of passive aggression, and you would channel the rage that comes from 40 years of being dismissed." Hanratty, for her part, praised the collaboration between her and the Wednesday star. "I’m just lucky that I got to work with you. You have the empathy and compassion needed to play a character like this — you’re not judging her," she said to her costar in the joint interview. Ricci later discussed how she found a way to be creative after taking on the role of Misty. “It's really different with television because it's not the same as with film where basically a character's written, and then the character's kind of handed over to you as the actor. You kind of get to create whoever you really want within the parameters of the writing,” the Addams Family star exclusively told Us Weekly in October 2022. “What I'm looking at is — is the character something I haven't seen before? Will I be getting to grow as an actor? I just always want to do things that I feel are original and unexplored in some way. I mean, obviously, almost every aspect of human nature has been explored at this point by art, but you know, there are tiny little differences that can be made to make something new.” She continued: “I like doing TV because you kind of get to spend a longer time with the character, and if you do like the character, then that's fantastic and great. … I’m right now growing and learning and changing and developing new muscles. And I do like that about TV that even at my age when I've been doing this for 35 years, it's forcing me to grow and develop new skills.” Meanwhile, Lynskey gushed about getting to work alongside Nélisse to bring Shauna to life. “Sophie has more directness in her manner. I feel like I’m quite apologetic," she told Collider in January 2022. "My own sort of energy is not quite as direct and confident as Sophie’s, and it was something that I really loved about her and I thought, ‘This is an interesting thing to try to have Shauna be a little bit more good with eye contact, a little bit stronger, not so sort of [hunched] with her body, but a bit more confident with her body.’ Because there was something in Sophie that’s like an inherent strength, which I think is really nice for the character.” Scroll down to see how the Yellowjackets '90s cast compares to their adult counterparts:

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Shauna Shipman

Nélisse stars as teenage Shauna as she ends up in the wilderness with a major secret she's keeping from best friend Jackie — she slept with Jeff, Jackie's boyfriend, and now she's pregnant. In the future, the character is played by Lynskey as Shauna struggles in her role as a mother and housewife to Jeff.

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Taissa Turner

In 1996, Brown plays the young version of Taissa who stops at nothing to succeed before the crash. Cypress takes over the role in present day as a more traumatized Taissa who must face her past to gain back control of her life.

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Misty Quigley

Hanratty brings the role of young Misty to life as she becomes the group's saving grace in the woods as the only one with medical knowledge. Ricci, however, is the older version who hasn't remained in contact with the rest of the survivors.

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Natalie Scatorccio

Thatcher appears as underestimated teen Natalie who becomes a vital part of the team after the crash. In the present timeline, Lewis gives a chilling performance as an older Natalie, who is caught up in addiction and trauma.

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Van Palmer

During season 1, viewers met Liv Hewson as the younger version of Van and Taissa's girlfriend. Lauren Ambrose joined the cast in season 2 to offer an update on where the former Yellowjackets goalkeeper is now.

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Lottie Matthews

Courtney Eaton portrays a younger Lottie as she ​goes off her medication and tries to control her visions in the wilderness before creating her alter ego, The Antler Queen. In season 2, Simone Kessell will explore Lottie's life since the girls returned home.

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Allie Stevens

In the high school days, Pearl Amanda Dickson plays freshmen Allie Stevens who manages to avoid the deadly trip by a stroke of painful luck. Tonya Cornelisse, for her part, takes on the role of older Allie as she tries to still make herself relevant to the incident.

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Kevyn Tan

Charlie Wright is briefly introduced as Natalie's friend in high school who she has a connection with before the crash. In present day, Alex Wyndham takes over as an older version of Kevyn who is now a cop.