The Witcher season 2 release date, teaser, cast, and photos
Season 2 of the Witcher TV series would have been on Netflix by now if it wasn't for the pandemic. Restrictions slowed down filming last year, but the show soldiered on, and it's now in the throes of post-production. It'll be released this year at some point, although we're not entirely sure when. Though with Netflix's Geeked Week upon us, we're hoping to learn more very soon.
And the good news is that Netflix has already ordered a third season, so we'll get to enjoy more of Geralt's adventures. We loved the first season, and Henry Cavill killed it as Geralt, so we're eager for more.
In The Witcher season 2, the story should progress in some interesting ways now that season 1 has set the stage. Here's everything we know about it.
The Witcher season 2 release date set for 2021
According to showrunner Lauren Hissrich's AMA with fans, season 2 will premiere sometime in 2021, but a more specific date hasn't been announced. Filming for season 2 wrapped at the beginning of April. Hissrich announced in May that they're "deep into post-production" on season 2, meaning we're getting much closer to a premiere.
Though Netflix is yet to reveal the date, we're hoping to find out more during Neflix's Geeked Week. We also got some brand banter between Netflix and The Witcher game account on Twitter, teasing something on July 9.
Hey @WitcherNetflix, are you free on July 9th?June 11, 2021
Production on The Witcher season 2 had a couple brushes with the Covid-19 pandemic. Netflix suspended production on all of its shows during the first several months of the coronavirus pandemic. The Witcher cast reunited on set starting on August 17, 2020, and then filming was halted in November 2020 due to four crew members testing positive. It was resumed, but in December 2020, Henry Cavill suffered a minor injury on set that slowed filming again.
The Witcher season 2 is "deep into post-production"
The Witcher season 2 has finished filming, the producers announced in early April 2021. As of may, showrunner Lauren Hissrich announced that they're "deep into post-production"—editing, sound mixing, effects work, and so on. It seems like we can likely expect to hear a premiere date, and maybe see a trailer, this summer. The first season released near the end of 2019, and another holiday release wouldn't be surprising.
The Witcher season 2 cast: who's new?
The Witcher 4: Will it happen?
Witcher 3 mods: Good hunting
Witcher 2 mods: Mods fit for a king
Witcher 1 mods: Quality of life for the classic
Four familiar witchers are joining the cast for season 2. Firstly, Geralt's grizzled old father figure Vesemir will make an appearance, played by Kim Bodnia. He's the oldest and wisest living witcher in the world on top being the man who raised Geralt at Kaer Morhen from a young age—he made Geralt the witcher he is today (literally). The other three are Eskel, who will be played by Thue Ersted Rasmussen, sarcastic jerk witcher Lambert, who will be played by Paul Bullion, and Ciri's sword combat trainer Coën, who will be played by Yasen Atour.
Another interesting casting: Kristofer Hivju will play Nivellin. Fans of the books will likely recognize that name from The Last Wish, one of the most popular Witcher stories. Hivju, who played Tormund Giantsbane in Game of Thrones, is as close as it comes to perfect casting.
Here are some other new faces for season 2:
- Philippa Eilhart - Cassie Clare
- Dijkstra - Graham McTavish
- Rience - Chris Fulton
- Codringher - Simon Callow
- Ba'lian - Kevin Doyle
- Fenn - Liz Carr
- Nenneke - Adjoa Andoh
- Francesca - Mecia Simson
- Lydia - Aisha Fabienne Ross
- Eskel - Basil Eidenbenz
- Lambert - Paul Bullion
- Vereena - Bjorn
- Coën Agnes - Yasen Atour
- Queen Meve - Rebecca Hanssen
- King Henselt - Edward Rowe
What's the plot of The Witcher season 2?
Netflix has released the teaser for The Witcher's season 2 plot. "Convinced Yennefer's life was lost at the Battle of Sodden, Geralt of Rivia brings Princess Cirilla to the safest place he knows, his childhood home of Kaer Morhen. While the Continent's kings, elves, humans and demons strive for supremacy outside its walls, he must protect the girl from something far more dangerous: the mysterious power she possesses inside."
Based on some photos captured by Redanian Intelligence during filming, it sure looks like season 2 will include the wild hunt. The Wild Hunt are the final enemies and subtitle of The Witcher 3, while readers of the novels will recognize them from their pursuit of Ciri beginning in the fourth book, Time of Contempt. We don't know just yet how large of an appearance these spooky riders will make.
We've also been told that the plot of season 2 will be much more linear. Now that all of The Witcher's main characters are together in one place (and one time), Season 2's timeline will be much easier to follow, Hissrich explained in an AMA with fans. That said, the simpler timeline lets the writers use time in a way they couldn't in Season 1. Season 2 will use flashbacks to explore Geralt's past, for instance.
According to showrunner Lauren Hissrich, season 2 will also "dig deeper into Cahir and Fringilla," the bad guys of the plot thus far. If that's not sounding super familiar, Andy Kelly has recapped each episode from The Witcher's first season in case you need a refresher before season 2:
The Witcher season 1 recaps
- The End's Beginning
- Four Marks
- Betrayer Moon
- Of Banquets, Bastards, and Burials
- Bottled Appetites
- Rare Species
- Before a Fall
- Much More
Check out Geralt and Ciri's season 2 looks
Geralt has gotten some much chunkier armor for season 2. Ciri, on the other hand, is dressing down. She looks like she'll be doing a lot of growing up at Kaer Morhen.
The Witcher season 2 teaser images
In December, Netflix started revealing some teaser images relating to The Witcher season 2 with polls for fans to pick what should be shown. Somehow, instead of choosing to see a season 2 script page, the Law Of Surprise option won out. How appropriate. It got us a bunch of glamor shots of Jaskier, and yet people are still voting for the Law Of Surprise in the following polls. That's some Witchmas commitment.
All told, here's what the week of Witchmas 2020 brought us in teasers for The Witcher season 2:
- Teaser images of props on set
- Jaskier's glamour photo shoot
- A Witcher bestiary documentary
- A season one blooper reel
- An interview with Roach (yes, the horse)
- A logo for the animated Witcher series
- A season 2 script page
Season 3 is probably definitely confirmed
A posting on the Writer's Guild of America database was spotted by fan blog Redanian Intelligence. That posting added "The Witcher Season 3 (2020-2021)" to executive-producer-writer-showrunner Lauren Hissrich's credits. The Writer's Guild of America is a very large union body, so it's pretty unlikely that they'd just make this up. Season 2 was confirmed before Season 1 aired as well, so it's pretty believable.
Where should I start with The Witcher?
Totally new to The Witcher, or just want a refresher before starting the show? Jody breaks down what you need to know in our beginner's guide to The Witcher. If the show has gotten you interested in the source material, we also have a guide to The Witcher books to help you sort out what order to read them in.
Semi-related, Jody also wrote a very serious assessment of Netflix's The Witcher vs the 2002 Polish TV show—which has some positive qualities of its own!
The Witcher's showrunner already has seven seasons mapped out
The Witcher series showrunner Lauren Hissrich is optimistic for the success of the show, and says she already has six more season mapped out if all goes well. Speaking before the second season was confirmed, she said:
"We don't have a second season yet—God willing we will—but right now it's just about, 'How do you set up stories that really capture audiences for years at a time?' The worst thing we could do is put all of our energies just into season one, and not be thinking about where these characters can grow to."
There's a lot of material to pull from: six novels, two short story collections, and three videogames with a wealth of excellent stories. (Although the show just adapts the books.)
Henry Cavill is a big fan of The Witcher
It turns out Cavill actually sought out The Witcher after finding out it was being produced.
"I played the games—they released a game called Witcher 3 about five years ago now. Played that game to death," he told Jimmy Kimmel. "Then I heard it was coming out—I met the showrunner, and that's when I learned there were books. Read the books and realized that I was missing out on a whole world of the stuff. Because I'd been into the fantasy genre since I was a kid—since before I could read, my dad was reading me fantasy books."
Following the release of season 1, Cavill spoke further about his love of PC gaming.
Where is The Witcher being filmed?
The first season of The Witcher on Netflix was filmed primarily in eastern Europe.
"WE'LL BE SHOOTING IN EASTERN EUROPE. Yes!" tweeted Hissrich. "This show couldn't exist anyplace else. Period." Quite a bit of filming was done in Hungary, including Budapest and other locations. The crew also visited the Canary Islands in Spain and, naturally, a castle in Poland as well.
Season 2 was filmed in London and elsewhere within the UK.
The directors for season 2 have been revealed
The directors for each episode of The Witcher season 2 have been revealed. Episodes 1 and 2 were directed by Stephen Surjik, who has previously directed episodes of The Umbrella Academy, Bates Model, Luke Cage, and The X-Files.
Episodes 2, 3, and 4 were directed by Sarah O'Gorman, who has previously directed episodes of The Last Kingdom, Death in Paradise, and Jamestown.
Episodes 5 and 8 were directed by Ed Bazalgette, whose previous directing work includes episodes of Doctor Who, Poldark, The Last Kingdom, and EastEnders, the long-running UK soap opera.
Episodes 6 and 7 were directed by Louise Hooper, a director whose past work includes UK shows like Cold Feet, Casualty, Vera, and Doctors.
Here's the list in full, via Redanian Intelligence:
Episode 1: Stephen Surjik
Episode 2: Stephen Surjik
Episode 3: Sarah O’Gorman
Episode 4: Sarah O’Gorman
Episode 5: Ed Bazalgette
Episode 6: Louise Hooper
Episode 7: Louise Hooper
Episode 8: Ed Bazalgette
The Witcher season 1 gallery
A Witcher anime film is coming to Netflix
The rumors are true, a new Witcher story is in the works! The anime film, The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf, will take us back to a new threat facing the Continent. Brought to you by the Witcher team @LHissrich and @BeauDeMayo, and Studio Mir the studio behind Legend of Korra.January 22, 2020
The Witcher show has been a great success for Netflix. So great, in fact, that another Witcher story is on the way to the service. The anime film, called The Witcher: The Nightmare of the Wolf, is in the works from Witcher showrunner Lauren Hissrich and Studio Mir (the animation studio behind The Legend of Korra and the new Voltron show).
Netflix says the film will "take us back to a new threat facing the Continent." We don't know much more beyond that, but considering it's already in development, Nightmare of the Wolf likely to come out before The Witcher's second season. The Witcher already seems like a great fit for the dramatic action of anime. I can already imagine Geralt's flashy sword moves exaggerated in animation.
Prequel series The Witcher: Blood Origin is in the works
Yup, it sounds like continuing the Witcher series and working on an animated movie aren't enough. Netflix has also given the green light to a prequel series exploring the origins of the first Witcher.
"1200 years before Geralt of Rivia, the worlds of monsters, men and elves merged into one, and the first Witcher came to be," the announcement reads. The Witcher showrunner Lauren Hissrich is co-creating it with Declan de Barra, who also wrote an episode in the first season. It will be a six-part series.
Blood Origin recently cast Jodie Turner-Smith as its lead character Éile who has left her life as an elite warrior to become a traveling musician.
This has been the toughest secret to keep! I've always wanted to dive deeper into the myth and lore of the Continent, and now fans will have a chance to explore it with @declandebarra in a prequel series, THE WITCHER: BLOOD ORIGIN. Elves, and enemies, and the end, oh my… https://t.co/SGzrf4WbxZJuly 27, 2020
Yes, there's a tub, and Geralt is in it
Witchers get dirty, after all.
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