Zendaya Wants "Euphoria" Season 3 to “Explore the Characters Out of High School”

*Major spoilers for Euphoria season 2 below!*

Although the critically acclaimed second season of Euphoria has come to an end, the good news is that the show has officially been picked up for season 3. The HBO hit series is narrated by Zendaya's character, Rue, who is a recovering teen drug addict. Throughout the series, we also follow the stories of Rue's peers at East Highland High, including Maddy, Cassie, Kat, Lexi, Elliot, Nate, and her best friend-turned-girlfriend, Jules. If season 2's drama is any indicator of how wild their town is, season 3 is bound to be even more eventful.

Ahead, find everything season 3 of Euphoria will have in store, from trailers to new characters.

Is season 3 happening?

Yes! After seeing the success of the show's run for season 2, HBO has renewed the fan-favorite for a third season. The official Twitter account for the show broke the news on Friday, February 4, 2022.

Deadline also reported that showrunner Sam Levinson will continue holding up the Euphoria fort for the upcoming season. "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," Francesca Orsi, the Executive Vice President of HBO Programming, told the outlet. "We couldn’t be more honored to work with this gifted, wildly talented team or more excited to continue our journey with them into Season 3."

What is season 3 going to be about?

Assuming it's like the first two seasons and the special bridge episodes, the show will most likely pick up where it leaves off. Since season 2 ended on an intense note for characters like Fez, Nate, and Cal, the upcoming season will most likely expand upon these storylines, or give attention to characters who didn't get much screen time in season 2 (looking at you, Gia, Faye, Ethan, and Kat).

In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Zendaya revealed that she wants season 3 of Euphoria to explore the characters' lives post-graduation. "I want to see what Rue looks like in her sobriety journey, how chaotic that might look," she said, "But also with all the characters, in the sense where they’re trying to figure out what to do with their lives when high school is over and what kind of people they want to be."

"What was special about this [past] season was that we got to dive into [the other characters] in a much deeper sense. I think we can do that again with the third season. There’s so much talent, you want to make sure everybody has the chance to have that," Zendaya added.

As for the trajectory of Storm Reid's character, Gia, the actress is hoping that she'll have the opportunity to heal in season 3. The 18-year-old told E! News, "I think in season 1, it was a lot of Rue's problems on the front line and her struggles being depicted." She went on to explain that Gia became "fed up" with her big sister in the show's second season.

"I hope that we get some reconciliation with a lot of things and I hope Gia gets to show her personality more and how she feels about things," Storm continued before revealing that the role has affected her mental health. "Once you call cut and say it's a wrap for the day, I'm usually able to go home and be fine, but I spent a lot of time thinking about what we shot after the fact — I think it really bothered me."

"That's your true raw emotion of what's going on in the scene and to see [Rue] kick down that door and scream at me and like us tussling, I was just like, ‘Oh my God, I don't want to do this anymore,'" Storm described the filming of Rue's intervention in season 2.

There are also a few unanswered questions from the show's first two seasons, so season 3 may also dive into what happened with Laurie after Rue escaped her house, and how Nate's family dynamic is going to change since Cal’s arrest.

Zendaya hopes to direct an episode

Could our lead actress step into the director's chair for an episode? Seems so! In an interview with Vogue Italia, Zendaya shared her aspirations for working behind the camera in season 3. "It's funny, I was actually supposed to direct episode six [of season two] but then I had to act in it," she explained. "I didn't have enough time, so, unfortunately, I wasn't able to this time around. I wanted to have enough time to do it the right way. So, next season, probably."

Fingers crossed!

When will season 3 come out?

Right now, there's no word on production status, let alone a release date. Because production for season 2 was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it arrived much later than anticipated. This may also be the case for season 3, as the show's Emmy Award-winning lead actress, Zendaya, is in demand for a few film projects, including Dune: Part Two.

During Euphoria's For Your Consideration event on Wednesday, April 20, the actress herself seemed to confirm that it might be a while until we see the show's return. While in conversation with Entertainment Tonight, Zendaya was asked if it's true that season 3 will not premiere until 2024.

"I think that might be true. I honestly don't know," she responded. "There's some executives that know better than me. You might wanna ask them. I'm gonna be busy for a while."

Based on this info, it's likely that we have at least another year until Euphoria season 3 airs. However, HBO has yet to confirm an official release date.

Who is returning for season 3?

After the intense season 2 finale, some characters may not be coming back for the upcoming season. After Faye's boyfriend, Custer, tells the cops that Ashtray and Fez were the ones behind Mouse's murder, Fez's "little bro" was shot by the cops. Because the character is dead, he most likely won't make an appearance in season 3 unless it's in a flashback or dream sequence. Nate's dad, Cal, was also arrested toward the end of the season, but Eric Dane teased that he may be returning for season 3.

"There's gonna be redemption. I mean, that's the trajectory he's on," Eric told Variety. "I can't imagine Cal's life from solitary confinement. It's tough to work Cal into the storyline when he's behind bars." He also said he hopes Cal is given an opportunity to "repair his relationship" with Nate in the upcoming season.

Rue also escaped a scary situation with Laurie, so it's likely that she'll make an appearance in the upcoming season since Rue never returned the suitcase, which had $10,000 worth of drugs.

In a February 2022 interview with The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Dominic Fike confirmed that his character, Elliot, will "absolutely" be coming back for the show's third season.

As for the rest of the cast, we'll probably have to hang tight for any official announcements from HBO.

Will there be any new characters?

Since season 2 brought on a few new characters from Faye to Elliot, we'll probably see some new faces in the third season, too.

In a conversation with Where Is the Buzz on March 16, 2022, Keke Palmer mentioned that she is open to appearing in the upcoming season. "I mean sure, I would do a guest appearance. I'm ready to go up in there and set stuff on fire. Let's go!," she said after interviewer Tatyana Arrington asked if she'd be down for a guest spot. The actress is certainly familiar with the past season's storylines — in their interview, Tatyana referenced a viral TikTok video where Keke shares how "fired up" the show makes her, and that she's definitely #TeamMaddy. Plus, Keke already has worked with one Euphoria star — she stars alongside Barbie Ferreira in Jordan Peele's upcoming thriller, Nope.

However, there are no details on casting calls just yet.

Are there any trailers?

The show just got renewed for a third season, so there are no teasers or official trailers out yet. If it's anything like season 2, we'll probably see a trailer about a month before the new season arrives.

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