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

Fans can expect Zendaya to reprise her role as Rue Bennett, alongside other Euphoria regulars such as Hunter Schafer (Jules), Jacob Elordi (Nate), Alexa Demie (Maddy), Algee Smith (Chris), Sydney Sweeney (Cassie), Maude Apatow (Lexi) and Dominic Fike (Elliot).

However, sadly Angus Cloud won't be returning as Fezco O'Neill following the actor's tragic passing at the age of 25 in July 2023.

Back in October, the actor said he was keen to see how things would unfold for his character in season 3, who was last seen being taken away by police following a gunfight in which his adoptive brother Ashtray (Javon Walton) was fatally shot.

"I can't wait to get back to work with everyone," the actor told E! News at the time. "I feel like it's been way too long. I just can't wait to see everyone and [get] working on set again."

In addition, Barbie Ferreira, who played Kat in the series, will not be returning for the upcoming third season, she recently confirmed on social media.

“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 by her co-star Hunter Schafer.

She continued: “I hope many of you could see yourself in her like I did, and that [it] brought you joy to see her journey into the character she is today. I put all my care and love into her and I hope you guys could feel it. Love you, Katherine Hernandez.”

The news comes after widespread speculation about tensions between Levinson and Ferreira over her character arc in season 2, with Kat largely forced into the background – a stark difference from the previous season, in which she provded one of the series’ most thought-provoking and fresh storylines.

As well as finding out what happened to Fezco, the ending of season 2 also revealed how Cassie and friends reacted to Lexi's play and whether Rue repaired her relationship with Jules after she told her mum she'd relapsed.

While the highly dramatic season 2 finale answered a fair few questions, there are still some plot points we need to know more about, so thank goodness season 3 has been confirmed by HBO!

But what exactly is the third instalment going to cover, who from the Euphoria cast will be returning and when can we expect it to arrive on our screens?

Here's everything we know so far about Euphoria season 3.

**Spoiler warning for Euphoria season 2 episode 8**

Will Euphoria be back for season 3?

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

As for the future of the show, it's currently unclear whether season 3 will be Euphoria's last – in fact, HBO executives aren't even sure at this point.

"I will let [executive producer] Sam [Levinson] and Zendaya talk about [that]," Casey Bloys, chief content officer at HBO, told TVLine earlier this month.

"I’m very excited about what they’ve got planned [for season 3]. So I will leave that to them. I will say, generally speaking, we trust where they want to take these characters. So we’ll let the creative team lead the way."

Euphoria season 3 release date speculation

While we know Euphoria is definitely returning for another season, we don't yet know when it will arrive – however, it's unlikely to hit our screens until 2024.

Its main star Zendaya, who plays troubled teen Rue, has had a pretty jam-packed schedule recently, with the Emmy winner filming Luca Guadagnino's upcoming film Challengers and shooting Dune: Part Two in quick succession.

Meanwhile, actress Maude Apatow told Vogue: "I honestly don’t know a single thing. We should be getting scripts and hearing about next season soon-ish, but I’m totally in the dark!"

Responding to such a suggestion in Variety of a 2023 air date, actor Eric Dane said: "I just saw something that said 2024, which kind of makes sense. I mean, we’ll go back and shoot maybe in November. I don’t know. I haven’t heard. It’s always going to be changing."

So the wait will likely be long, Euphoria fans!

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
• Dominic Fike as Elliot
• Maude Apatow as Lexi Howard

We would also expect returns for the following stars:

• Hunter Schafer as Jules Vaughn
• Nika King as Leslie Bennett
• Jacob Elordi as Nate Jacobs
• Alexa Demie as Maddy Perez
• Storm Reid as Gia Bennett
• Austin Abrams as Ethan Daley
• Colman Domingo as Ali Muhammed

While it's not entirely clear who will be back for season 3 of Euphoria, we do know that Zendaya will be reprising her role of Rue, with Bloys telling TVLine: "She's going to be in season 3."

In fact, we can't see Zendaya leaving the show anytime soon, with Bloys adding: "It’s hard to imagine doing [the] show without her."

We also know that Dominic Fike will be back in season 3 as Elliot, with the singer and actor telling The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon that he would "absolutely" be back.

Sydney Sweeney also confirmed her return for the third season when she discussed her hopes for her character in a chat with Cosmopolitan.

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

Meanwhile, Eric Dane also confirmed his involvement in the series when he discussed returning to filming.

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.

As for the rest of the cast, we're likely to see Hunter Schafer (Jules Vaughn), Alexa Demie (Maddy Perez), Maude Apatow (Lexi Howard), Jacob Elordi (Nate Jacobs), Storm Reid (Gia Bennett), Colman Domingo (Ali Muhammed), Austin Abrams (Ethan Daley) and Nika King (Leslie Bennett) return for season 3.

However, Fezco is unlikely to return following the tragic death of actor Angus Cloud.

Fez left in a precarious situation but alive after being shot in the stomach in the finale, and was taken into police custody in the second season finale.

Hopefully, newer additions to the cast like Martha Kelly (Laurie), Chloe Cherry (Faye) and Minka Kelly (Samantha) will also be back for a second round to tie up their storylines.

Sadly, as detailed above, Barbie Ferreira will not be reprising her role as Kat Hernandez in season 3 after the actress elected to depart the series.

What's more, it seems that Javon Walton will not be returning as Ashtray either after the character was gunned down by a SWAT team in the season 2 finale.

Despite the possibility of flashback appearances, Walton also didn't rule out Ashtray being alive.

He 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."

Could Ashtray be alive after all?

Euphoria season 3 plot

There are a number of plot points left to explore following the Euphoria season 2 finale.

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 dead by a SWAT team.

Maude Apatow, who plays Lexi on the show, told Entertainment Weekly that she wanted to see a slow-burn romance between everybody's favourite pair – Fez and Lexi. "I love working with Angus. I think Angus is such a great actor, and we just have so much fun working together," she said. "So for selfish reasons, I hope we get to do more scenes together because it's fun."

Elsewhere, we will continue to follow Rue Bennett on her journey of sobriety and battling addiction - we know she lasts the school year being sober, but what about beyond?

It also seems that her romance with Jules Vaughn and friendship with Elliot is both now done for good. Where does this leave Jules and is she really done with Elliot too?

Cassie Howard will also be dealing with her split from Nate Jacobs, but former best friend Maddy Perez warned her that their complicated relationship is just beginning. Can Maddy and Cassie mend their friendship?

Meanwhile, newbie Chloe Cherry, who plays heroin addict Faye, told Variety that she hopes Faye grows closer to Rue in season 3.

"They'd vibe for sure. I think Faye has a story of addiction to tell as Rue does; even though it’s different, I think that they could learn something from each other," she said. "I also think Rue is a non-judgmental character, and I think that is all Faye needs. I think if they got closer, they would get along because they have these shared experiences and they are both chill girls in spite of it."

Finally, as mentioned previously, it seems we will follow Cal Jacobs' journey of "redemption" - if such a thing is possible.

Is there a trailer for Euphoria season 3?

HBO has not yet released a trailer for season 3 - production has not yet started on the third season.

We'll be updating our release date page as soon as a clip drops.

Euphoria season 2 continues on Mondays on Sky Atlantic and NOW. If you’re looking for more to watch check out our TV Guide.

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