Alice in Borderland season 3 renewed at Netflix: Everything we know so far

Alice in Borderland was a smash hit when it premiered on Netflix in December 2020. Critics and viewers enjoyed the science fiction series and were over the moon to discover that it had been renewed for a second season. But unfortunately, fans had to go through a painfully long wait to see the highly anticipated second season. However, I think it’s safe to say that Alice in Borderland season 2 was well worth the wait. Now, everyone’s wondering if the story will continue in an Alice in Borderland season 3.

The second season came out in December 2022, so it’s been quite some time since its release. While the season 2 finale may have seemed like a series finale, so much more could be explored in a third season. But is Alice in Borderland season 3 actually happening on Netflix?

We shared everything we know about the show’s fate and much more below!

Alice in Borderland season 3 latest news

Here’s the latest on the third season:

• On Sept. 27, Netflix announced that Alice in Borderland has been renewed for a third season.
• As of Sept. 19, it looks like Netflix might’ve silently renewed the sci-fi series for a third season.

How many seasons of Alice in Borderland are there?

There are only two seasons of the sci-fi series, and both are currently available to stream on Netflix. Each season has eight episodes in total, which is the typical number of episodes a Netflix show is given.

Alice in Borderland season 3 officially ordered by Netflix

It looks like we were right, Netflix Lifers! The popular sci-fi series is due to return with its third season soon because it has been officially renewed. We recently reported about a rumor going around that the show had been silently renewed. Well, a little over a week after our report, and Netflix has confirmed this rumor. Alice in Borderland season 3 is officially a go at Netflix!

The streaming giant announced the good news on Sept. 27 through their official X/Twitter account in a 21-second teaser showing the Joker playing card.

Here’s what we previously reported below. 

But what are the chances of Alice in Borderland season 3 happening? Well, initially it seemed unlikely that Netflix would renew the show for another season, primarily because the second season wraps up the storyline and ends around the same point that its source material, the manga, ends. The two seasons released right now tell a complete story.

However, there’s a rumor going around that Alice in Borderland might’ve been silently renewed for a third season by Netflix. Apparently, there have been mysterious posters found on a subway in Japan with the Netflix logo on them and 10 playing cards in two rows of five.

Obviously, playing cards play a huge part in the sci-fi series. Many people believe it’s a code and have even cracked it. As reported by What’s on Netflix, a fan of the series figured out what the poster means and it’s believed to spell out “ALICE THREE.” Could this mean Alice in Borderland season 3 is a go at Netflix? It’s unclear, but we’re keeping our fingers crossed that this is the case. We’ll just have to wait for confirmation from Netflix.

That said, the second season fared well on the streamer. It managed to rank highly on Netflix’s global Top 10 list for non-English TV in its first four weeks on the platform. In fact, Alice in Borderland season 2 was watched for 200,550,000 million hours globally in its first month on Netflix.

Viewing hours are very important. Netflix typically looks at how many people watch a show in its first month to help decide whether to renew or cancel. Since Alice in Borderland season 2 pulled in tons of viewers, it’s possible they could use that to justify a new season. Even though it doesn’t seem likely, there are some ways that the show could continue.

Does Alice in Borderland season 3 have a release date?

Since the show was recently renewed, we do not have a release date. It’ll likely be a while before the streamer announces this important information because the new season would have to be filmed and then edited in post-production. As far as we know, production has not started on the third season. But once the filmmaking process wraps up, we can expect Netflix to make the announcement.

Alice in Borderland season 2 ending explained

The second season ends with all the face cards being defeated and the surviving players being given the option to stay in the game or return to the real world. Arisu and the other players who chose to return to the real world wake up in a hospital and find out that a meteor hit Tokyo. This is what we saw happen at the beginning of the show with the fireworks, but now we know that the fireworks were actually pieces of the meteor destroying Tokyo.

When the meteor hit Tokyo, many people died, while those who were critically injured were sent to the hospital. All the people who participated in the games, such as Arisu and Usagi, had survived the blast but were at the border between life and death aka the Borderlands. When they return from the Borderlands, they have no recollection of ever being there or knowing each other. Arisu and Usagi meet at the hospital and have a strange feeling that they’ve met before but have no proof of their meeting actually happening. Still, they decide to get to know one another.

The last shot of the season shows a table full of playing cards flying away until only the Joker card remains. The camera zooms in on the Joker card’s face while suspenseful music plays in the background. Then it cuts to the credits.

What could Alice in Borderland season 3 be about?

Based on how the second season ended, the third season could center around the Joker being the new villain. Maybe the Joker is actually the mastermind behind the games, and Arisu and the rest of the surviving players are still stuck in the Borderlands.

The third season could also be adapted from one of the manga creator’s Borderland spinoffs: Alice on Border Road or Alice in Borderland Retry. However, Alice on Border Road has no connection to Alice in Borderland other than having a similar premise, while Alice in Borderland Retry is a sequel to Alice in Borderland. So, it would make sense if the creators adapted Alice in Borderland Retry for the third season.

Here’s what Alice in Borderland Retry is about via Fandom:

"Retry begins with the returning protagonist Ryohei Arisu, who once again finds himself trapped in the Borderland and must therefore participate in a deadly game with other players via tactics, cooperation, and betrayal in order to survive and depart the Borderland to reunite with his wife and expecting baby."

Alice in Borderland season 3 cast: Who could be in the third season?

We do not have a full cast list for Alice in Borderland season 3 just yet. However, Netflix did reveal that Kento Yamazaki and Tao Tsuchiya would be reprising their roles as Arisu and Usagi in the third season. Shinsuke Sato also comes back to direct the new episodes.

How many episodes could Alice in Borderland season 3 be?

Since the first two seasons consisted of eight episodes each, the third season will probably have the same amount of episodes. Maybe Netflix will bump up the episode count to 10 episodes, but eight seems more likely.

Could Alice in Borderland season 3 be rated TV-MA?

Yes. Since the first two seasons were rated TV-MA, it’s more than likely that the third season will have the same age rating. It’s not often that a Netflix show’s age rating changes.

When could Alice in Borderland season 3 start filming?

Although the show has been renewed, filming probably won’t begin until 2024. It’s unknown if scripts have been written yet, and the cameras can’t start rolling until the writing process finishes. This process can take some time too. Once we have more information about the filmmaking process, we’ll be sure to let you know everything we know.

Since Alice in Borderland is a Japanese show, it would not be affected by the ongoing SAG strike, but it would still take time for the creators to prepare the production for the third season.

Could Alice in Borderland season 3 arrive on Netflix in 2023?

Basically, there’s no chance that the third season could come out in 2023. First, the show was renewed in fall 2023. The year is almost over and the filmmaking process hasn’t even begun.

The show would need time for pre-production before the cameras start rolling. Production will likely last for at least four months, followed by a lengthy post-production process. There’s just no way the filmmaking process will finish up in time to make a 2023 release, even a 2024 release seems unlikely at the moment. But we’ll have a better idea of when the third season could come out once production gets started.

We’ll constantly update this space with new information about Alice in Borderland season 3 as it’s released, so stay tuned to Netflix Life!

The FanSided Entertainment Team has contributed to this article.