"Death toll here is not good": Yellowjackets star hints at major demises in Season 3

Yellowjackets is back, and the cast warns that no one is safe. Samantha Hanratty, who plays teen Misty, advised fans not to get too attached to any character, as season three is set to raise the stakes significantly.

“Not just one death, not just two — the death toll here is not good,” she shared at the Los Angeles premiere.

Courtney Eaton (teen Lottie) echoed this sentiment, revealing that the Season’s losses left the cast in tears during filming.

“We bawled our eyes out,” Eaton admitted, leaving fans to wonder which beloved characters might not survive.

Episode one finds adult Van (Lauren Ambrose) living with Taissa (Tawny Cypress) while battling cancer and dealing with her separation. Ambrose hinted at strange developments for their characters:

“Taissa and Van definitely go bananas this season.”

Cypress, however, was more cryptic, saying:

“I think you’re going to come to find that you’ve been watching another Tai a lot more than you thought.”

A major addition to the cast is Hilary Swank. While details about her role remain under wraps, Ambrose described working with her as “very, very cool,” praising Swank as one of the greats. The secrecy around her character has only fueled fan speculation about how she fits into the show’s dark and unpredictable storyline.

Shauna’s grief spirals into anger

Season three opens with young Shauna (Sophie Nélisse) reeling from the death of her best friend Jackie and the loss of her baby. Nélisse described how Shauna channels her grief into anger, projecting it onto the group. Her transformation highlights the emotional toll of survival, especially as the group navigates the aftermath of winter in the wilderness.

Nélisse also shared how filming this Season felt like a relief after the intense experience of playing a pregnant Shauna. “It was fun at first because it felt so real,” she said, “but wearing the baby bump became cumbersome.

"’Im happy to move more freely this season.”

A season of spring—and darkness

Though spring has arrived, co-creator Ashley Lyle warned that season three is far from lighthearted.

“It’s not a lighter season. It’s more fun by design, but there’s a strong underlying darkness,” she explained.

This blend of relief and dread mirrors the show’s signature tension, where every fleeting moment of calm is overshadowed by the looming threat of tragedy.

Lyle also reminded fans that Yellowjackets is not meant to last forever. The creators have a carefully crafted conclusion in mind:

!This isn’t a procedural where you can bring in new characters like Grey’s Anatomy. It’s a finite stor

With the timeline now moving into spring, the change in setting brings new challenges for the survivors, pushing them into even darker territory as they come closer to the 19-month mark in the wilderness. Fans are left wondering how far the group will go to survive—and how many will make it out alive.

Yellowjackets Season three premieres Friday for Paramount+ subscribers with the Showtime plan and will air weekly on Sundays.