Yellowjackets Season 2 Trailer Promises Something "Violent and Misunderstood" Coming This Way

Melanie Lynskey, Tawny Cypress, Juliette Lewis, Christina Ricci, Lauren Ambrose, Simone Kessell and their teenage counterparts return for Yellowjackets season two, March 24 on Showtime.

By JD Knapp Mar 09, 2023 5:03 PMTags
Watch: Melanie Lynskey Teases "Insane" Yellowjackets Season 2

We hear the wilderness, and it hears us.

And it seems Showtime has also heard its Yellowjackets fans begging for more season two content, because the network finally dropped its official trailer on March 9. The sinister clip kicks off with Liv Hewson's young Van telling a story to her fellow survivors.

"Once upon a time, there was a place called the wilderness," they warn. "It was beautiful, but it was also violent and misunderstood. And it waited and waited to befriend whoever arrived."

Naturally, the ominous tale will set the stage for the horrors to come. The second season will pick up where both timelines left off at the end of season one; with the young cast still attempting to survive their harsh winter terrain months after their plane crash, and the older cast covering up that pesky little murder while also doing their best to stay alive against an unknown threat.

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Get All the Secrets Behind How Yellowjackets Assembled Its Stacked Cast

Set to the tune of Florence + the Machine's cover of "Just a Girl" by No Doubt, the trailer intentionally highlights the character counterparts from both 1996 and the present—including Sophie Nélisse and Melanie Lynskey as Shauna, Jasmin Savoy Brown and Tawny Cypress as Taissa, Sophie Thatcher and Juliette Lewis as Nat, Sammi Hanratty and Christina Ricci as Misty, Liv Hewson and Lauren Ambrose as Van as well as Courtney Eaton and Simone Kessell as Lottie.

From the looks of things, it appears the new season will also detail the soccer team's eventual rescue, offering a potential third timeline sometime around 1998 as they attempt to adapt back to their normal lives. Post-cannibalism, of course.

Adult Nat states, "The whole time, there was some darkness out there." To which, adult Lottie replies, "I thought we left it there when we were rescued, but now I realize, we brought it back with us."

The trailer also gives a glimpse at a few new additions to the cast, including Elijah Wood and John Reynolds. We also see adult Shauna bonding with her own teenage daughter, even if it is over something as trivial as murder.

In the end, some overlay text offers the biggest omen of what's to come: "Become what you fear, fear what you become."

See how it all goes down when Yellowjackets returns for season two, March 24 on Showtime. But until then, check out everything we know about the show, below...

Van Is Alive!

Six Feet Under alum Lauren Ambrose will play the adult version of Vanessa Palmer (a.k.a. Van) in season two. While the first season explored the present-day lives of her teammates Shauna, Taissa, Nat and Misty, the life of Van—and whether or not she was even alive—remained a mystery.

The actress was seen sporting facial scars in a series of photos released by Showtime Dec. 22, likely a brutal reminder of Van being attacked by a pack of wolves in season one.

Ambrose said that when it comes to what Van is dealing with in the present-day, it's very similar to what her teammates are still wrestling with.

"I think they all are, in a sense, stuck in the trauma," Ambrose told Entertainment Weekly March 20. "That experience is just so defining."

More Young Van, Too

Season two has plenty in store for young Van, too, as Liv Hewson—who played the younger version of Van in season one—has been upgraded to a series regular in the second season.

Get Ready For Adult Lottie in Yellowjackets

Simone Kessell, best known for playing Breha Organa on Disney+'s Obi-Wan Kenobi, will play the adult version of Lottie, who may or may not be a full-on cult leader.

As for what to expect?

"This woman is a guru," co-showrunner Jonathan Lisco told Entertainment Weekly March 10. "But she's also, like many self-proclaimed gurus, very volatile. She's able to give you the scorpion's tail at any moment. That's part of the hold she has on her followers."

Plenty More Young Lottie Ahead

The mysterious workings of young Lottie will play a big role in season two, as well. Courtney Eaton, who played Lottie in season one, has been also been promoted to a series regular in season two.

The antler queen will ride again.

Elijah Wood Is Misty's Worst Nightmare

In August, it was announced that Elijah Wood had joined the cast of season two as Walter, "a dedicated Citizen Detective," according to the network, "who will challenge Misty (Christina Ricci) in ways she won't see coming."

Ricci recently revealed that viewers should expect plenty of shared screen time for the duo, telling The Hollywood Reporter March 14, "Most of the season, for me, was spent with Elijah in two-man scenes."

Yellowjackets Is Keeping Things in the Family

Melanie Lynskey will have a familiar face on set in season two: her own husband Jason Ritter!

In December, it was announced that Jason had joined the cast in an unspecified role. However, Melanie recently let it slip that they might pop up on screen together.

"I can't say anything about it, but he did an episode," she exclusively told E! News March 4. "It's always so fun to be with him. He's such a nice person. He made me look better."

Things Are Going to Get "Insane"

We know the second season is sure to be bonkers—just ask Melanie herself.

"All I can say is that episode two is insane," she told E! News at the Emmys in September. "Episode one is great and I was like, ‘I like it, I like it, it's building on last season.' And then episode two just goes wild."

We're not sure if we're excited or absolutely terrified. Maybe both.

Questions Will Be Answered

With so many mysteries in need of resolution, Yellowjackets co-showrunner Ashley Lyle promised that viewers won't have to wait long for closure.

"It's important to answer the plot questions we raise, or dig at it and not let it exist as a theoretical mystery," she told The Hollywood Reporter in August. "Who is blackmailing the Yellowjackets, we intend to answer. What does it all mean and what's the point of human experience? Those are questions we won't be able to answer fully. But we don't want to leave people hanging on a plot level."

Something "Violent and Misunderstood" Is on the Horizon

On March 9, Showtime dropped the full-length trailer for season two.

"Once upon a time, there was a place called the wilderness," young Van warns. "It was beautiful, but it was also violent and misunderstood. And it waited and waited to befriend whoever arrived."

Later, adult Nat (Juliette Lewis) says, "The whole time, there was some darkness out there," to which adult Lottie replies, "I thought we left it there when we were rescued, but now I realize, we brought it back with us."

Cannibalism Is Just the Start?!

Cannibalism was introduced in Yellowjackets' first episode, with co-creator Bart Nickerson explaining to Entertainment Tonight in January 2022, "We gave away the cannibalism in the pilot. And part of that is we wanted to build to not just that they do in fact engage in cannibalism, but why they do."

As it turns out, we ain't seen nothin' yet.

"If we do our job right, the eating of a person will not be the most transgressive thing that these young women do in the wilderness," co-showrunner Jonathan Lisco told Entertainment Weekly in March. "That's just the tip of the iceberg."

Yellowjackets Season 2 Premiere Date—and a Season 3 Renewal

Brace yourself, because season two of Yellowjackets premieres March 24 on the Showtime app, with a broadcast debut set for March 26 at 9 p.m. on Showtime.

But that's not all—Yellowjackets has already been renewed for a third season and the show's creators have revealed they have a five season plan in place.

Gulp.

 

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