Yellowjackets Season 4’s Official Filming Timeline & Why Season 5 Shouldn’t Happen Revealed By Shauna Actor
The remaining Yellowjackets survivors now have an official timeline for when they’ll head back to the wilderness for season 4.
An official release date for Yellowjackets season 4 is still undetermined, but the cast is set to imminently embark on the bittersweet production of their final episodes. In an interview with ScreenRant‘s Liam Crowley for her new horror movie Whistle, teenage Shauna Shipman actor Sophie Nélisse officially revealed that filming for Yellowjackets season 4 begins in mid-February:
“Liam Crowley: Sophie, I got no segue for this next question, but we’re all massive Yellowjackets fans here at ScreenRant. Christina had mentioned that production on the final season was slated for January. We got a couple days left.
Sophie Nélisse: I know, we’re starting in two weeks. We’re very excited. I’ve already rented my place to Vancouver and so we’re about to kick off this final season.”
While previous estimates slated Yellowjackets season 4 for a January start date, Nélisse has now confirmed that mid-February is when the cast’s Vancouver production kicks off. Beginning filming in February marks a shift from previous seasons’ production starts, though the change makes sense given the cold, wintry climate season 4 left off on.
That said, the series’ production timeline for past seasons may give an indication of when audiences can expect Yellowjackets season 4 to premiere on Paramount+. Season 2 premiered in March 2023, seven months after production started, while season 3 debuted in February 2025, nine months after production kicked off. As such, Yellowjackets season 4 could arrive as early as fall 2026.
Another Yellowjackets season 4 production detail that still requires clarity is the number of episodes the final outing will contain. Though season 2 had only nine outings (with Yellowjackets‘ unaired bonus episode from that time still being shelved), seasons 1 and 3 both released 10 installments, which season 4 is expected to follow.
| Yellowjackets Season # | Production Start Month | Episode Count | Premiere Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | May 2021 | 10 | November 14, 2021 |
| 2 | August 2022 | 9 | March 26, 2023 |
| 3 | May 2024 | 10 | February 16, 2025 |
| 4 | February 2026 | TBD | TBD |
“Liam Crowley: So I know obviously you haven’t started yet, but are the emotions a little bittersweet that this chapter’s coming to an end?
Sophie Nélisse: Yeah, for sure. These girls will have shaped my 20s entirely. I’m the woman that I am today partially because of them and what they’ve taught me, and how much I’ve grown alongside them. It feels like a really big chunk of my life will be missing without them, but I also feel like I love this show because of the quality of the material and just the craft behind it. I think we’re better off closing it now before it loses sight of what it is and why people love it so much. I think we’ll bring the most amazing season finale that we can.”
Nélisse’s comments about bringing the series to a close before it “loses sight of what it is” expand on the sentiments of Yellowjackets‘ co-creators when announcing there would be no season 5. Lyle and Nickerson explained that they’ve “always known there would come a point when the story would tell [them] it wants to end, and it’s [their] belief that [their] job — [their] responsibility — is to listen.”
In addition to Nélisse and Melanie Lynskey as Shauna, the Yellowjackets season 4 cast is expected to bring back Jasmin Savoy Brown and Tawny Cypress as Tai, Samantha Hanratty and Christina Ricci as Misty, Thatcher as Nat, Courtney Eaton as Lottie, Liv Hewson as Van, Kevin Alves as Travis, Nia Sondaya as Akilah, Hilary Swank and Jenna Burgess as Melissa, Warren Kole as Jeff, Sarah Desjardins as Callie, Ashley Sutton as Hannah, and Elijah Wood as Walter.
