After a successful second season, Showtime hit Yellowjackets is stepping up its game by adding another star player to its roster in two-time Oscar winner Hilary Swank.
According to a Deadline report, Swank, who will be introduced later on in the anticipated third season, will be a recurring guest.
If the series is renewed for a fourth season, which seems like a given based on the show’s critical success and growing fanbase, she could become a series regular.
Yellowjackets chronicles the aftermath of a plane crash involving a high school girls’ soccer team through a unique narrative structure. One storyline explores the immediate aftermath of the crash, as the team and coaching staff are forced to rely on their survival instincts and navigate transforming dynamics.
The other storyline fast-forwards 25 years to the present day, focusing on how the survivors cope with their trauma and readjust to society.
Swank will join an already predominantly female-led ensemble, featuring Melanie Lynskey, Sophie Nélisse, Tawny Cypress, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Ella Purnell, Juliette Lewis, Sophie Thatcher, Christina Ricci and Samantha Hanratty, along with an expanding extended cast. Elijah Wood appeared in the second season, with the additions of Swank and Joel McHale, also announced as a Season 3 guest, signaling new directions for the series.
While on Variety‘s Awards Circuit Podcast, director Karyn Kusama hinted that the series would blend the two storylines and explore the team being discovered.
Swank’s character is being kept under wraps for now, but fans speculate she could be playing the adult counterpart to one of the young soccer players.
As Yellowjackets continues pursues the ever-elusive Emmy award, having been nominated 10 times without a win, Swank brings some recognition as a celebrated actress. She received Academy Awards for Best Lead Actress for her performances in Boys Don’t Cry and Million Dollar Baby.
While a concrete release date for the third season hasn’t been announced, Deadline reported earlier this year that it is expected to premiere in 2025. The season entered production in May, according to their account on X.
As fans wait with bated breath, in June, co-creator Ashley Lyle teased a potential bonus episode to bridge the seasons.
