Venturing into the realm of psychologically chilling horror, where the imagination fills in the gaps, often conjures an experience that sends a shiver down one's spine. Such is the guiding philosophy evident in Yellowjackets' newly unveiled, enigmatic teaser, a fleeting glimpse—so brief that blinking might cause you to miss it—into its impending third season, premiering on Friday, February 14th. Beware, for a lapse in concentration might rob you of the intrigue it promises.
As the 15-second clip unfolds, the camera lens zooms in meticulously on two bees crawling around a dirt-crusted eye socket of a skull, from which hangs ominously a necklace adorned with a heart-shaped pendant. Gradually, as the camera pulls back, the screen illuminates with the chilling tagline, "This Valentine's Day. Eat your heart out." Interwoven with these haunting images are fleeting snippets showcasing the cast members immersed in various states of torment, with Sophie Nélisse's visage prominently featured as she screams into the icy abyss of the unknown.
Although not visually depicted in the teaser, Hilary Swank and Joel McHale will make guest appearances in the new season.
Season 3 picks up after the harrowing conclusion of Season 2, where the Yellowjackets—a high school girls' soccer team from New Jersey stranded in the harsh Canadian wilderness—resorted to the unthinkable act of cannibalism. However, their intended victim, Natalie (Sophie Thatcher), was spared, with Javi (Luciano Leroux) ultimately plunging through the ice during the grim hunt and becoming their fateful prey.
Coach Ben (Steven Krueger), upon realizing the team's grim deed to Javi, retreated into solitude, occupying Javi's former hiding spot. Meanwhile, in the present decade of the 2020s, Lottie (Simone Kessell), Van (Lauren Ambrose), Natalie (Juliette Lewis), Taissa (Tawny Cypress), Misty (Christina Ricci), and Shauna (Melanie Lynskey) recreated their macabre tradition of selecting a Queen from a deck of cards to determine the next hunted. The ritual unleashed their adolescent traumas, leading to a harrowing chase after Shauna drew the Queen. Callie intervened by shooting (but not fatally wounding) Lottie to rescue Shauna and halt the hunt. Lisa (Nicole Maines), a compound member previously aligned with Natalie, witnessed the unfolding chaos and threatened Natalie's life. Misty, attempting to shield her friend, inadvertently stabbed Lisa with a lethal injection meant for Natalie.
In an April 2023 interview with PEOPLE, Jasmin Savoy Brown, who portrays the younger Taissa, expressed a mixed reaction to portraying a faux cannibal on Yellowjackets. "It was revolting... yet oddly tantalizing," she remarked then. "That's all I'm gonna say about that." In a scene from Season 2's second episode, jackfruit and rice paper rolls stood in as flesh, yet Nélisse admitted that the experience was still "utterly revolting." "I couldn't fathom what I was doing; all I saw was this grotesque, fake skin," she continued. "And it felt so incredibly realistic."
Yellowjackets' Season 3 premieres on Friday, February 14th, on Paramount+ with Showtime, preceding its broadcast debut on Sunday, February 16th.
