After an intense first season, The Witcher is set to return to Netflix for its second season, where we shall get to see Henry Cavill engage in much more intense and impactful action to protect Princess Ciri.
Created by Lauren Schmidt Hissrich and based on the eponymous book series by Andrzej Sapkowski, the series amassed a wide cult-like following due to the incorporation of a wide variety of fantasy and supernatural elements. Following the end of season 1, the anticipation for the Witcher season 2 skyrocketed.
The COVID-19 pandemic ruined countless shooting schedules, and The Witcher was another one. As fans grew impatient and restless, in July 2021, at WitcherCon, Netflix announced exciting news besides dropping a bombastic trailer for season two.
Gathering all the information, we are bringing you everything we know about The Witcher season two.
Everything we need to know about The Witcher season 2
When will The Witcher season 2 premiere on Netflix?
The Witcher season two is set to premiere on Netflix on December 17, 2021, as confirmed by official sources.
During the first-ever WitcherCon in July 2021, Netflix confirmed the news, two months after talking about how The Witcher would be back for the second season by the end of this year. Hissrich had confirmed previously that they were trying not “to rush the product” as “that doesn’t benefit anyone”.
The crippling pandemic halted production for nearly five months between March and August 2020 before once again stalling temporarily in November after a crew member tested positive for the virus.
With production complete in April, the official Twitter account shared a picture of Henry Cavill geared up as the White Wolf, smirking at the camera.
What does the cast for The Witcher season 2 look like?
There are more additions to the original cast given the progression of the series’ trajectory. The tentative cast list for the second season of The Witcher reads:
- Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia
- Freya Allen as Princess Ciri
- Anya Chalotra as Yennefer
- Jodhi May as Queen Calanthe
- Joey Batey as Jaskier
- Kim Bodnia as Vesemir
- Anna Shaffer as Triss
- Eamon Farren as Cahir
- MyAnna Buring as Tissaia
- Jeremy Crawford as Yarpen Zigrin
- Lars Mikkelson as Stregobor
- Terence Maynard as Artorius
- Therica Wilson Read as Sabrina
- Tom Canton as Filavandrel
- Lilly Cooper as Murta
- Royce Pierreson as Istredd
The new cast comprises:
- Paul Bullion as Lambert
- Yasen Atour as Coen
- Basil Eidenbenz as Eskel
- Joel Adrien as Hemrik
- Kristofer Hivju as Nivellen
- Mecia Simpson as Francesca
- Aisha Fabienne Ross as Lydia
- Agnes Bjorn as Vereena
- Carmel Laniado as Violet
- Rebecca Hanssen as Queen Meve
- Adjoa Andoh as Nenneke
- Liz Carr as Fenn
- Simon Calow as Codringher
- Graham McTavish as Dijkstra
- Chris Fulton as Rience
- Cassie Clare as Philippa Eilhart
- Kevin Doyle as Ba’Lian
- Sam Hazedine as Eredin
- Niamh McCormack as Lara Dorren
- Ann Firbank as Ithlinne
- Joseph Payne as Jarre
- Ed Birch as Vizimir
- Ania Marson as Voleth meir
- Emily Byrt as Aylne
Fight choreographer, aka Game of Thrones’s Night King, Vladimir Furdik, is not coming back for season two. Meanwhile, Emily Pollet, James Eeles, Cayvan Coates, Rebecca Hanssen and Alastair Park will all take undeclared roles
What does the trailer contain?
Around the same time as the release date announcement, the trailer for the second season was also released. The two-minute twelve-second trailer sees Geralt and Ciri journeying amidst snowy woods towards a new base in Kaer Morhen that Geralt says is Ciri’s “home”.
Geralt teaches Ciri the tricks of the trade as he tries to keep her safe from various adversaries. At the very last second, we see the injured Yennefer — who was believed to be dead — regaining consciousness.
Behind-the-scenes of The Witcher
In April, to celebrate the end of filming for season two, Netflix geeked, on their Twitter account, teased a behind-the-scenes sneak peek that features very brief footage that focuses on Ciri and a flurry of events that flash by quite quickly.
The ominous music indicates a host of dramatic action sequences will be peppered throughout the series.
How many episodes will there be in The Witcher season 2?
The Witcher season two is set to have eight episodes, mirroring the first season. At WitcherCon, all episode names except that of the finale were revealed as well.
- Episode one: A Grain of Truth
- Episode two: Kaer Morhen
- Episode three: What Is Lost
- Episode four: Redanian Intelligence
- Episode five: Turn Your Back
- Episode six: Dear Friend
- Episode seven: Voleth Meir
- Episode eight: the unnamed finale
What will The Witcher season 2 be about?
The Witcher season one is based on various short stories set as a prequel to The Witcher saga, while season two shall delve deeper into the books and derive inspiration mainly from Blood of Elves.
According to the trailer and the official synopsis, Geralt shall most likely devote himself to training Ciri and preparing her to face her adversaries. As the official tweet states, Ciri, who bade “tearful goodbyes on a most violent night”, is finally “preparing to fight”. As depicted in the books, Geralt shall probably provide her training at the base in Kaer Morhen, where more Witchers, alongside that of Cavill’s Geralt, shall feature on the show.
Hissrich revealed that taking the characters back to Kaer Morhen was a way of “getting Geralt back to his roots and sort of learning where he came from and what his story is and what his sense of family is”. However, the pandemic affected the course of the story, prompting the showrunners to make specific abrupt changes.
Hissrich said, “In season two, we’re really digging in with her character and we’re going to understand her a lot more. And yes, that growth that you’re describing, where she starts training, where she actually becomes the character that we know from the books and later from the video games, we will see her become that person. But she doesn’t change on a dime. What we don’t want to do is forget where she came from.”
She added, “What’s really fun about season two is that in the books, [after] Geralt and Ciri meet in that moment in Sodden… when we come back in the next book, we’ve actually skipped a lot of time… well, we found in writing the show that we didn’t actually want to skip over those first months of them getting to know each other.”
Why is the plotline relatively more simplistic?
After season one was filled with flashbacks and time-jumping narratives, it left viewers unfamiliar with the books confused. Hissrich admitted that they had probably “misunderstood what everyone was looking for in their entertainment”.
The Witcher season 2 is set to have a relatively simplistic plotline with a linear trajectory. Hissrich has said that, in season two, all the “characters are existing on the same timeline” while they employ “flashbacks”, “flash-forwards” and more to “integrate time in a completely different way” to help the audience, especially the newer ones, to not have any difficulty in understanding the unravelling of the plot.
What do we know about the supposed prequel?
In July 2020, Netflix announced they were releasing a six-part prequel to focus on the first-ever Witcher. Released as The Witcher: Blood Origin as a spin-off series.
It would refer to the first-ever Witcher who came into existence nearly 1200 years before Geralt of Rivia when “the worlds of monster, men and elves merged into one”. Hissrich is working alongside writer Declan de Barra on this series and shall have a completely different cast.
Will The Witcher be renewed for a season 3?
The Witcher has been a consistent fan favourite and has signed a lengthy deal with Netflix wherein a spin-off series, animated film, and several other seasons can be expected by its fans. According to Hissrich, they have several ideas for nearly seven seasons.
However, since Netflix has not yet given any kind of confirmation, let us appease ourselves by taking a look at the sneak-peeks that the cast and crew have provided over the months: