Yellowjackets Just Promoted a Major Character, What Does It Mean For Season 3?

Yellowjackets just got a major cast shift that could have repercussions all through Season 3 and even beyond. According to Deadline, the Showtime series has promoted Sara Desjardins — who has played Callie Sadecki, the daughter of Shauna (Melanie Lynskey) and Jeff (Warren Kole), in a recurring role since Season 1 — to series regular for the critically acclaimed series’ third season. The season is set to debut on Friday, 14, 2025. Per the report, Desjardins’ promotion happened ahead of production start on Season 3, making it very likely that Callie will have a significant impact on the new episodes and stories.

Season 2 of Yellowjackets already featured an expansion of Callie’s role in the overall story, with Callie being aware of her mother’s past and her parents’ crimes and even being in on the coverup. However, it’s the end of Season 2 that may have the biggest hint of what Callie’s role in Season 3 could be. At the end of Season 2, the present-day survivors agree to participate in Lottie’s ritual — she claimed the wilderness was demanding a sacrifice. However, when it’s Shauna who draws the Queen of Hearts during the ritual and is chased by the others, Callie protects her, shooting Lottie in the shoulder. Lottie remarks that Callie is “powerful” and there’s even a moment in the finale where Callie is seen to be smiling slightly at all of the chaos.

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Those events seem to suggest that the darkness of the wilderness may no longer be limited to just the survivors. Some fans have speculated that Callie’s actions across Seasons 1 and 2 as well as that interaction with Lottie at the end of Season 2 could suggest that the darkness has moved to a new generation and that with Natalie dead, the wilderness may have chosen Callie as the new Antler Queen. More than that, Callie isn’t the only member of the next generation that has been shown to have some unsettling “inheritance” if you will when it comes to the darkness of their parents. Taissa’s son, Sammy, was previously shown in Season 1 to having seen the Man With No Eyes like Taissa has and has also had some unusual and unpredictable outbursts. It is possible that between what has been teased with Sammy and Season 2’s developments with Callie — especially now that Desjardins has been promoted to series regular — we could be seeing Yellowjackets shift its story and primary mysteries to being less about the past and more about the impact on the future.

Yellowjackets Will Have New Characters in Season 3

While what Desjardins’ promotion to series regular and what it means for Callie and the rest of the Yellowjackets story is something that remains to be seen, we do know that there will be additional cast changes for Season 3 beyond that. Season 2 featured two significant deaths in the present-day storyline with adult Nat and police officer Kevyn Tan both meeting their ends. This means that it is unlikely that we’ll see Juliette Lewis or Alex Wyndham returning. The past timeline saw the deaths of Javi and Crystal, making it also unlikely that we’ll see much of Luciano Leroux and Nuha Jes Izman. But Season 3 will have new faces with the addition of The Next Karate Kid star Hilary Swank as well as Community and Stargirl alum Joel McHale. Details about their characters have not yet been revealed.

Season 3 of the Yellowjackets premieres February 14, 2025, on Paramount+ with Showtime.