‘The Witcher’ Season 2: Premiere Date, Cast, Plot and Trailer

‘The Witcher’. Photo: Oracle Globe

The Witcher season 2: Release Date

The Witcher season 2 does not yet have a release date.

Netflix renewed the series for a second season in November 2019 — before the first season had even premiered. The eight-episode season began production in early 2020 in London for a planned debut in 2021. But all of that was upended by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Witcher season 2, along with most film and TV productions, was put on hold. But filming resumed in August, following health and safety protocols.

Since filming for the first season lasted about seven months and then the show premiered seven months after that, some had thought The Witcher Season 2 would debut March or April 2021.

With the roughly five-month pause in filming, The Witcher season 2's release date is now more likely to be around September or October 2021, as reported by Tomsguide.

The Witcher season 2: Cast

Henry Cavill (Geralt), Anya Chalotra (Yennefer) and Freya Allan (Ciri) are all set to return for The Witcher season 2. The full cast for the show has been revealed by Netflix, too, including key new characters.

Three new witchers are apparently joining the cast: Lambert, played by Paul Bullion, and Coën, played by Yasen Atour (Netflix only announced that both had joined the cast, while Redanian Intelligence reported they're witchers). This has created the expectation that The Witcher season 2 will take us to Kaer Morhen, where witchers are trained. And, indeed, fans of the book and games will already be familiar with Lambert and Eskel, both of whom belong to the Wolf Witcher school just like Geralt and Vesemir.

In September, reports circulated that the show had recast the upcoming role of Eskel, who will be played by Swiss actor Basil Eidenbenz. He has joined the show after casting changes had to be made because of the coronavirus pandemic.

It seems interesting that the producers would throw in any extra witchers in the second season, simply because these monster-slaying professionals are typically considered to be a dying breed (at least, in the books and video games). You won't find too many, but there are of course references to other Witcher Schools like the Cat and Bear.

The School of the Wolf, which is the Witcher faction Geralt belongs to, seems to be one of the few Witcher schools actively doing anything against the monster threat facing the continent.

In May 2020, Redanian Intelligence rumoured the third new witcher coming in The Witcher season 2: Hemrik, played by Joel Adrian.

Killing Eve's Kim Bodnia plays witcher trainer, Vesemir, and Kristofer Hivju – best known as Game of Thrones' Tormund Giantsbane – will play Nivellen. Other castings include Mecia Simson as Francesca, Aisha Fabienne Ross as Lydia and Agnes Bjorn as Vereena. Deadline reports that Carmel Laniado has joined the cast as a young character called Violet for at least three episodes.

It also looks like Cassie Clark will be joining the cast of The Witcher season 2 as the incredibly powerful Philippa Eilhart. Philippa is another sorceress and one of a handful who is capable of changing her own shape, with her preferred form being that of an owl. She's a lot older than she looks, and she's also not a big fan of men, which will be good for a bit more LGBTQIA representation in the show. This little bit of info comes via Redanian Intelligence.

Returning characters from season one include – thank the heavens – Jaskier (Joey Batey) and Triss (Anna Shaffer). Eamon Farren will be back as Cahir, too. Other familiar faces from season one will include Tissaia (MyAnna Buring), Filavandrel (Tom Canton), Stregobor (Lars Mikkelson), Artorius (Terence Maynard), Sabrina (Therica Wilson Read), Murta (Lilly Cooper), Yarpen Zigrin (Jeremy Crawford) and Istredd (Royce Pierreson).

Photo: Flipboard

Thue Ersted Rasmussen was set to play fellow witcher, Eskel, but a coronavirus-related rescheduling clash means he's had to be recast. "It's heartbreaking, of course," Rasmussen said on Instagram, "but I mostly feel happy and grateful for the days I got to spend on set earlier this year." Netflix is yet to reveal his replacement.

Characters from The Witcher games are destined for The Witcher season 2, too. According to Redanian Intelligence, the witty, powerful Queen Meve of Lyria and Rivia, introduced in the game Thronebreaker: The Witcher tales, is to be played by Rebecca Hanssen (Enola Holmes). Then there's Alastair Parker, who played Cleaver in The Witcher 3 video game (also via Redanian Intelligence), who appears in an unknown role, according to Techradar.

In March 2021, Netflix revealed seven more characters who had been added to the cast. They were: Adjoa Andoh as Nenneke, a priestess of Melitele in the books, Liz Carr as Fenn, Simon Callow as Fenn's partner Codringher, Graham McTavish as Redanian armed forces head Dijkstra, Chris Fulton as the mage Rience, Cassie Clare as Redanian royal advisor Philippa Eilhart and Downton Abbey's Kevin Doyle as Ba'Lian, a new character.

The Witcher season 2 will have entirely different directors to season one, and Netflix has confirmed who they are:

Ed Bazalgette (The Last Kingdom, Doctor Who)

Sarah O'Gorman (Jamestown, Cursed)

Geeta Patel (Santa Clarita Diet, Meet the Patels)

Stephen Surjik (Daredevil, The Umbrella Academy)

When it comes to the writing team, Hissrich explained on Twitter her hiring process in terms of diversity and knowledge of the world of the Witcher. Responding to whether the best writers tend to be the most knowledgeable she wrote "Yes. And equally importantly, no." Instead, Hissrich looks for a spectrum of life, writing, and genre experience who "love the world, but aren't afraid to question it. Who are fans, but are willing to step back and open their minds, in order to bring their beloved world to our real (big) one."

The Witcher season 2: Plot

The Witcher season 2 will pick up where season 1 left: after Geralt and Ciri finally met.

Season 1 juggled a few different timelines. In the "past," Geralt and Yennefer crossed paths several times (and engaged in a torrid romance), all while Geralt knew Ciri was his "destiny" — even if they didn’t meet until the finale.

That finale also featured the Battle of Sodden Hill, in which Yennefer unleashed a massive force of magical power against the invading Nilfgaardian army — and then disappeared.

According to Netflix's official synopsis of season 2, "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."

Season 2 will also see Geralt help Ciri train in her mysterious powers. As for Yennefer, her status is unclear, but it’s safe to say she’ll reappear somehow, but she’ll be dealing with the aftermath of the battle.

"She took a big risk at the end with that firepower, and it doesn't work out so well for her," Hissrich told Business Insider.

As for the destined-to-meet duo, the showrunner teased, "You'll get to know where [Geralt] came from and why he is the person he is in season 1." Meanwhile, Ciri is "not looking backwards anymore or looking back at her family in Cintra anymore. She's trying to build a new family."

Hissrich has said that season 2 will draw from Sapkowski’s novel Blood of Elves, as well as unused parts of the stories in The Last Wish and The Sword of Destiny.

In her Reddit AMA, the showrunner explained, “We’re approaching S2 in a similar way we did with S1: what are the stories Sapkowski was telling, and why? What building blocks do we need to set up future stories? Is there anything we missed from S1 that we want to include? And what will work on television? For instance — no one wants to see Triss have diarrhea for three episodes. So what are we trying to glean from that in the books, and how do we present that onscreen?”

One thing some viewers may feel relief over is that season 2’s storytelling will be more linear, with much less timeline-jumping, though Hissrich said, “We'll continue to use flashbacks when we need it, or other devices."

(For anyone who remains confused about when certain events happened, check out Netflix’s interactive Witcher map and timeline, which also contains a secret message in the Elder language that translates to, "When something ends, something begins.")

That map will expand and get more detailed as the show explores more of the mythology, history, culture, and politics. "We decided to save some tidbits of witcher lore until… you actually meet more witchers," Hissrich teased.

Another area the show will delve into is Nilfgaard, the powerful empire that attempts to invade Cintra in season 1.

"We felt like we needed to set up a 'bad guy' in S1 — but it’s our hope that we've added enough layers to Cahir and Fringilla that the audience thinks 'Wait, but THEY don’t seem insane. So what do they see in Nilfgaard? Maybe there's more there than meets the eye?'" Hissrich said.

"Perhaps we didn’t go far enough in S1, to see more behind Nilfgaard's curtain — but it will definitely be explored more thoroughly in S2."

The Witcher Season 2: Trailer

Photo: fossbytes

Unfortunately, right now, there isn’t any trailer for The Witcher Season 2. However, considering the high chances of Season 2 releasing in 2021, we might get a trailer in a couple of months, possibly before August 2021.

The Witcher season 2: Sneak Peek

As Netflix releases a teaser trailer and photos we catch a glimpse of the Witcher's new look. Geralt is spotted in new gear, equipped with new armour and additional means of protection. The photos gave us a sneak peek into what will be with Yennefer and Ciri.

Ciri appears to be holding some sort of weapon, which indicated that this season will focus on how she is trained up as something of an honorary Witcher at Kaer Morhen and she's still with Geralt as far as we know.

The Witcher Season 2 First Look

If you want to get the first look at The Witcher Season 2, you’re in luck. Last year in October, Netflix released a few first-look photos of Geralt, Ciri, and Yennefer in Season 2.

Yennefer is all bruised up in the photos, so it’s safe to say her journey isn’t full of roses. Also, Ciri is holding a sword, which means in the coming season, Geralt of Rivia will train Ciri.

Other than that, Netflix also teased some sneak peeks from the sets of The Witcher Season 2 in December 2020.

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