Shailene Woodley Revealed The Major Change In Big Little Lies Season 3

The wait is finally almost over for Big Little Lies fans. After Season 2 of the HBO drama aired in 2019, it was unclear whether the series would be back for a third season. The network head made some disheartening remarks about the possibility of Season 3, and years passed without any updates. But at long last, Nicole Kidman has confirmed the Monterey Five aren’t done yet.

In the years since Season 2 ended, Kidman kept the hope for Season 3 alive with comments about how the main cast is all up for a third season. And she finally confirmed the new season will indeed happen at a Q&A event in Naples on Nov. 17.

“We will be bringing you a third one, just FYI,” Kidman said while speaking about Big Little Lies.

The new season will likely pick up after the cliffhanger ending of Season 2. In that season’s final moments, Bonnie (Zoë Kravitz) gathered the rest of the Monterey Five at the police station, suggesting that she was going to confess to murdering Perry (Alexander Skarsgård). Could the big secret that’s kept the five women together this long finally come out? That’s what Season 3 will reveal.

Your Faves Will Likely All Return

As Kidman has been teasing Season 3, she’s made it clear that it’s important for all of the central cast to return. That means Kidman will return as Celeste, Kravitz as Bonnie, Reese Witherspoon as Madeline, Laura Dern as Renata, and Shailene Woodley as Jane.

There’s also a lot of romantic drama Season 3 will need to unpack, which indicates a lot of other main characters will likely be back. This includes Adam Scott as Madeline’s recommitted husband Ed, James Tupper as Bonnie’s husband Nathan (whom she admitted she doesn’t love), Jeffrey Nordling as Renata’s husband Gordon (whom she will probably be divorcing soon), and Douglas Smith as Jane’s new love interest Corey.

The Focus May Shift To A New Generation

Also very likely returning will be all the younger cast, who play the children of Madeline, Celeste, Jane, Bonnie, and Renata. In Season 1, it was the children’s shared elementary school class that brought the Monterey Five together, but Shailene Woodley pointed out that because of how long its been since then, Big Little Lies Season 3 will have to have a whole new type of focus on the children.

“What excites me about the possibility of a third season, more than what I could think of with Jane, is the fact that these children [on the show] are not children anymore. They’re teenagers now!” Woodley told Harpers Bazaar on Dec. 22.

When Season 1 aired in 2017, all the kids were in elementary school, presumed to be around 8 or 9 years old. Woodley noted that because the actors are much older now, she’s excited to see how Season 3 may explore more of these angsty teenagers’ inner lives. To make her point, she remarked on how surprised she was when she saw the young actors at BLL director Jean-Marc Vallée’s funeral in 2022.

“All of the kids came and the cast was there. So I’m looking around and I’m like, ‘Where’s our kids?!’” Woodley recalled. “Their voices have dropped, they all have their teenage situation happening [waves hands over face to imply acne], and the angst is kicking in, and that, to me, is what is exciting about the possibility of a third season. What does life look like for those people who are not children anymore?”

It’s Still Going To Be A Long Wait

Although Kidman promised Season 3 is coming, it likely won’t be soon. The star-studded cast has infamously busy schedules, and filming for the first two seasons wound up taking a couple years. Even if Season 3 begins production soon, it probably wouldn’t air until 2025 at the earliest.