Euphoria season 3: Release date speculation, cast and latest news

It was never really in doubt, but Zendaya's return as Rue Bennett was confirmed in a dark and moody first-look picture, that was revealed as the start of filming was announced.

Meanwhile, we also now know that the likes of Hunter Schafer, Sydney Sweeney, Jacob Elordi and Colman Domingo will all be back, with the latter calling the new episodes "groundbreaking".

He told the Table Manners Podcast with Jessie and Lennie Ware: "I go back to my show Euphoria – I haven’t read [the script] but [creator Sam Levinson] told me some of it, and it’s going to be groundbreaking."

The actor also happily welcomed the return of Euphoria in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, saying he was "ready to get back to work".

"Sam's ready to get back to work," he continued. "Zendaya's ready to get back to work, and Sydney and Jacob. Everybody's really excited. It's been a long time, but I feel like the band is back together again. Good things, you have to wait for them. You have to let it marinate. You gotta let it simmer."

The future of Euphoria has very much been up in the air, after seemingly being confirmed then put on hold earlier last year. However, now that it's in production fans can get excited again, even though, according to Warner Bros Discovery exec JB Perrette, it "probably" won't arrive until early 2026.

But what exactly will the new season be about and who else will be reprising their fan-favourite roles? Read on for everything we know so far about Euphoria season 3.

Euphoria season 3 release date speculation

While it had initially been reported that the series would be returning in 2025, it has since been revealed that production on Euphoria season 3 has now kicked off (as of February 2025) with an expected release date of early 2026.

Many fans were expecting to see a snippet of Euphoria season 3 in HBO Max's 2025 trailer, but CEO and President of Global Streaming for Warner Bros Discovery, JB Perrette, has said that "we’ll see the third season of Euphoria probably in early 2026".

Production on the series was put on hold last year, with a HBO spokesperson telling Variety at the time: "HBO and Sam Levinson remain committed to making an exceptional third season. In the interim, we are allowing our in-demand cast to pursue other opportunities."

HBO announced at the beginning of February 2022 that Euphoria would be back for season 3.

"Sam, Zendaya, and the entire cast and crew of Euphoria have taken season 2 to extraordinary heights, challenging narrative convention and form, while maintaining its heart,” said Francesca Orsi, EVP of HBO Programming.

"We couldn't be more honoured to work with this gifted, wildly talented team or more excited to continue our journey with them into season 3."

Who's returning in the Euphoria season 3 cast?

The following cast members have been confirmed for Euphoria season 3.

• Zendaya as Rue Bennett
• Eric Dane as Cal Jacobs
• Sydney Sweeney as Cassie Howard
• Maude Apatow as Lexi Howard
• Hunter Schafer as Jules Vaughn
• Dominic Fike as Elliot
• Jacob Elordi as Nate Jacobs
• Alexa Demie as Maddy Perez
• Colman Domingo as Ali Muhammed
• Martha Kelly as Laurie
• Chloe Cherry as Faye
• Rosalía as TBC
• Marshawn Lynch as TBC
• Kadeem Hardison as TBC
• Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as TBC
• Toby Wallace as TBC
• Darrell Britt-Gibson as TBC
• Priscilla Delgado as TBC
• James Landry Hébert as TBC
• Anna Van Patten as TBC

Zendaya will be reprising her role of Rue, with Bloys telling TVLine: "She's going to be in season 3."

Back in November 2024, it was confirmed that Storm Reid would not be returning as Gia Bennett, with the Last of Us actress speaking about the decision more recently. Talking to TMZ, she confirmed she's not in the upcoming season but admitted that she's "so excited to watch it, I can’t wait".

As for why she won't be returning, Reid explained that she “got stuff going on” and was about to graduate from USC, adding that “schedules just can’t align sometimes”.

Schafer admitted on the Call Her Daddy podcast in August 2024 that she has "no f**king idea what's going on" with season 3, but she was later confirmed to be returning alongside co-stars including Sydney Sweeney, Maude Apatow, Jacob Elordi and Alexa Demie.

Colman Domingo confirmed his own involvement in an interview, while Dominic Fike's return was also later confirmed.

One fan-favourite character won't be returning following the tragic death of Angus Cloud, who played Fez in the show, back in July 2023.

But it remains to be seen if they will find a way to incorporate Cloud into the third season through pre-recorded footage. We left his character in a precarious situation (but alive) after being shot in the stomach in the finale, before being taken into police custody.

Long-term cast member Barbie Ferreira, who played Kat in the series, will also not be returning for the upcoming third season.

"After four years of getting to embody the most special and enigmatic character, Kat, I’m having to say a very teary-eyed goodbye," she wrote in an Instagram story, alongside a photo of fan art made by her co-star Hunter Schafer.

Meanwhile, it was been reported that Leslie Bennett star Nika King, Ethan Daley star Austin Abrams and Chris McKay star Algee Smith are not currently on the cast list for season 3.

However, new stars will be joining for the new season, including Rosalía, Marshawn Lynch, Kadeem Hardison, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje and Toby Wallace.

Darrell Britt-Gibson, Priscilla Delgado, James Landry Hébert and Anna Van Patten are also said to have guest roles, while returning stars Martha Kelly and Chloe Cherry have been upped to series regulars.

What is the plot of Euphoria season 3?

Levinson has described the third season of the show as a "film noir". Speaking to Elle, he explained he hopes to "explore what it means to be an individual with principles in a corrupt world".

Most importantly, seeing as it's been three years since season 2, it has been confirmed that season 3 will feature a time jump away from high school.

"It’s important because there’s only so much high school drama you can deal with," Zendaya said to Entertainment Weekly's The Awards podcast, and quipped: "'And then she cheats on her boyfriend again!'"

Teasing a "fascinating" third season, Zendaya also said: "I don’t actually know much about what is happening. I don’t quite know exactly what the season is going to look like, but I do know that the time jump is happening."

She continued: "It will be fascinating to see and understand these characters outside of the context of high school and how all the stuff that we saw when they were kids and they were in high school affects the adulthood they have and who they become in a much bigger world. I’ll be interested to see what happens too."

As for whether things will be picked up from the season 2 finale, it's unclear at this stage – but there are plenty of burning questions.

In terms of major cliffhangers, Fezco was taken into police custody after accidentally being shot in the stomach by adoptive brother Ashtray, who was subsequently shot by a SWAT team.

But is Ashtray dead? Walton previously told Variety: "There’s definitely hope for Ashtray to still be alive. Because if there’s somebody who could take a bullet in the show, it’s Ashtray. Ashtray is one badass kid.

"He’s not playing around. I believe he has a shot about being around for season 3."

Cassie Howard will also be dealing with her split from Nate Jacobs, depending on how far ahead in time we'll jump. But former best friend Maddy Perez did warn her that their complicated relationship was just beginning. Can Maddy and Cassie mend their friendship?

Discussing her hopes for her character in a chat with Cosmopolitan in 2022, Sweeney said: "I can only imagine where she’s going to go next season. As an actor, I love being able to go to places that might be deep for characters, because you unlock different parts of them that you didn’t know before. I love discovering different parts of Cassie.

"Season 2 was so different [to season one] because last season Cassie was so confident and on this path of self-love and self-worth."

Finally, it seems we will follow Cal Jacobs's journey of "redemption" – if such a thing is possible.

Dane told Variety: "There’s gonna be redemption. I mean, that’s the trajectory he’s on. I can’t imagine Cal’s life from solitary confinement. It’s tough to work Cal into the storyline when he’s behind bars."

The actor also revealed he hopes that Cal and Nate can (somehow) mend their relationship.

"There’s been a lot of back and forth," he explained. "One of the issues I think that Sam is thinking about is that he doesn’t want to have it in high school anymore. That’s where it was set and what made sense then.

"So, when you take it out of that, there’s a lot of back and forth about where to set it and how far in the future to set it and all that stuff.

Is there a trailer for Euphoria season 3?

HBO has not yet released a trailer for season 3 – production has now kicked off on the third season so we can anticipate further updates and sneak peeks in the coming weeks and months.

Watch this space!

Euphoria is available to watch on Sky Atlantic and NOW with an Entertainment Membership.

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