‘Yellowjackets’ Season 2: Everything to Know After Season 1 Ends With Major Twists

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'Yellowjackets' Season 2: Everything to Know After Season 1 Ends With Major Twists

Warning: Spoilers ahead for Yellowjackets season 1 finale. What's next? Yellowjackets quickly became one of the buzziest shows of the year following its November 2021 premiere — and its finale left viewers eager for answers. The Showtime series follows Misty (Christina Ricci), Natalie (Juliette Lewis), Shauna (Melanie Lynskey) and Taissa (Tawny Cypress), who were stranded in the wilderness as teens (Sammi Hanratty, Sophie Thatcher, Sophie Nélisse and Jasmin Savoy Brown, respectively) after surviving a plane crash. Their traumatic experience leads the women down a dangerous path — and they aren't afraid to get their hands dirty. "Showtime does like their gore. But luckily, this is just a natural agreement on all of our parts," showrunner Ashley Lyle told Slate in January 2022 of the show's dramatic visuals and dark story lines. "We knew going in that we wanted to have a visceral quality to the show. Our intention is never to be shocking or provocative for the sake of it, but to pick our moments where the frailty of the human body is on full display, and we're not turning away from it." The series was officially picked up for a second season before the January 2022 finale aired, leaving fans wondering what's in store for the survivors in the next chapter — and whether they'll be seeing more from characters who seemingly didn't make it out of the woods alive. Though Jackie (Ella Purnell) froze to death at the end of season 1, some viewers aren't ruling out a potential return. Purnell, however, appeared to confirm that her time on Yellowjackets was over after the finale. "It has been the greatest honour playing Jackie and being a part of this sick little show," the Maleficent actress wrote via Instagram at the time. "Acting alongside such ferociously talented people, making our chaotic little family, exploring beautiful Canada, getting to work/play & learn from so many good humans, and seeing all of your reactions / memes / theories / general hype - it's absolutely been one of the brightest highlights of my career ❤️." The U.K. native continued: "Thank you to all the people who believed in me enough to give me this opportunity, and to our hardworking & fierce crew who actually made this s--t happen ✨ To my fellow Yellowjackets, I hope you know how much I love you all! I am so grateful for all of it. Buzz buzz buzz forever bitches! 💛🐝💛." Jackie and the Yellowjackets soccer players fought for their lives after their plane went down, and while the team captain didn't survive, Lottie (Courtney Eaton) lasted longer. After the shocking finale reveal, Lyle and cocreator Bart Nickerson hinted at the "subtle indications" throughout the season that there were more than just four survivors. "We wanted to make sure that, ultimately, we want to preserve the ability for our surprises to feel truly surprising so it's always a bit of a delicate dance," Lyle told Entertainment Weekly in January 2022. "You want to lay the groundwork and plant the seeds so nothing comes out of left field but at the same time, you don't want anything to feel so inevitable that it loses its impact as a viewer. In many aspects of our storytelling, that was the balance that we were trying to strike." The twists continue as Natalie (Lewis) gets kidnapped and Lottie is joined by teen Misty (Hanratty) and Van (Liv Hewson) in the woods in a final flashback. She whispers a chilling incantation, performing some kind of spiritual offering and leading Ricci to wonder how the cult will factor into season 2. "You have to understand, we had very little information in the beginning; people played it all very close to the chest, what was going on for the rest of the season. ... We still don't know exactly what it is," the actress told GQ in January 2022 of Misty's possible involvement in the cult. "We still have not been told. ... I don't get the feeling that she is in the cult. But I'm not sure." Scroll down for more clues about Yellowjackets season 2: [podcast_block]

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Has the Show Been Renewed?

Showtime officially gave season 2 the green light in December 2021. Lyle and Nickerson revealed to The Hollywood Reporter one month prior that they originally pitched the series as a five-season story.

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When Will 'Yellowjackets' Season 2 Premiere?

The second season of Yellowjackets will premiere Friday, March 24, on streaming and on demand for all Showtime subscribers. The new season will debut on TV on Sunday, March 26, at 9 p.m. ET.

Showtime exec Gary Levine told Variety in January 2022 that the network hoped season 2 would be ready by the end of the year, noting, "I think our audiences deserve that, and I also think that when you have a show that has this kind of a momentum, you don’t want to let it dissolve."

Two months later, the show's creators noted that they didn't want to leave viewers waiting. "We are still figuring out exactly when we start filming, but we're looking to get going as quickly as we can," Lyle told Entertainment Tonight at the Critics' Choice Awards in March 2022. "And yes, we will. The cliffhangers will be a big part of it. We don't want to leave anyone hanging for too long."

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Is Jackie Really Dead?

After a debut season packed with twists, some viewers are convinced they could be seeing more of Jackie in the future even though the character met her end. Following the January 2022 finale, Lynskey brushed off the fan theory.

"As far as I know [she's dead]," the actress told The New York Times. "I don't see how she comes back from [freezing to death]. And I think Ella's contract was always just a year."

Purnell, for her part, hinted that fans might get to see her again, telling Entertainment Tonight in March 2022, "I can’t tell you! I know things. I know things. But I can’t tell you. I’m not saying whether I’m dead or alive, I’m just saying you might see me."

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Who's Playing Adult Lottie?

While cult leader Lottie (Eaton) will likely be a major player in the second season, decisions have yet to be made about who will portray the character as an adult.

"We have not cast her, we have seen a lot of the ideas going around, and some are really kind of great," Nickerson told Slate in January 2022. "We keep joking, maybe if enough people vote for someone, there can be some kind of draft situation, where you have no choice. You are legally bound, the internet has decided, you are now Lottie. But we haven’t actually cast anybody."

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What's Up With the Cult?

The revelation that Lottie is still alive and has been running a cult in the wilderness since 1996 provides plenty of possibilities for season 2's plot.

"We are very much interested in exploring the theme and concept of belief and what that means for us in terms of our worldview — the way that we interact with the world around us, the way that we interact with other people, and forge those relationships," Lyle hinted of the cult's future during a January 2022 interview with EW. "That is absolutely something that we will be investigating by means of this growing belief that has started to emerge amongst the girls in the wilderness and what that might mean in the present day."

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When Will Season 2 Start Filming?

During an interview with Entertainment Tonight in June 2022, Cypress revealed that the cast were "going back to Vancouver" in "mid-August" to start production on season 2.

Two months later, Lyle discussed the schedule for the series. "We're looking into the first quarter of 2023," the co-creator told TheWrap about the show's premiere date. "We are on a very similar production track in terms of time as we were last season, although of course, we have to shoot an additional episode because we had already shot the pilot the last time. I believe that we are going to finish shooting in about February and we'll be airing sometime shortly after that."

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Who Will Be Playing Adult Van?

In August 2022, Lauren Ambrose was cast as the older version of Vanessa “Van” Palmer. Meanwhile, Liv Hewson was upped to series regular after previously bringing the younger version of the character to life in season 1.

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Who's Playing Adult Lottie?

Showtime announced in August 2022 that Simone Kessell will play the adult version of Lottie in season 2. Courtney Eaton, who played the teen version of the role in season 1, has also been upped to series regular for the show's next season.

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Who Is Elijah Wood Playing on 'Yellowjackets' Season 2?

In August 2022, Showtime announced that Elijah Wood was cast as a citizen detective "who will challenge Misty in ways she won't see coming." This marks a reunion for the duo following their onscreen collaboration in 1997's The Ice Storm.

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Has Filming Started?

“Going feral. Our #Yellowjackets are back in production for Season 2,” the show’s official Twitter account wrote in August 2022, sharing a snap of the film slate.

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What Can Fans Expect From Season 2?

"Oh, I'll tell you this much, it is so much crazier than I thought it was going to get," Hanratty exclusively told Us Weekly in September 2022. "We're starting with such a bang this season. I thought we left off on such a high note of like crazy and we're starting off on just as high of a note and it's beyond exciting."

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Who Will Jason Ritter Play in 'Yellowjackets' Season 2?

Lynskey's husband will be in one episode of the new season, Variety confirmed in December 2022. However, details about the new character have yet to be revealed.

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What Did the Teaser Reveal?

In January 2023, Showtime released a season 2 teaser which featured a glimpse at Wood's character on the show. The sneak peek also hinted at major deaths, trauma and more secrets that will be uncovered. 

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What Did Viewers Learn From the Trailer?

The official trailer, which was released in March 2023, featured more glimpses from the group's time in the wilderness. As Florence + The Machine's "Just a Girl" cover played in the background, the adult versions of the girls reunited to deal with the aftermath of their trauma.