The Witcher season 2 was confirmed before season 1 even hit our Netflix screens because apparently, the streaming giant was sure we’d all be horny as fuck for Henry Cavill and look, they’re not wrong. But ever since season 1 wrapped up in 2019, there has been a void in my heart that can only be filled by a shirtless Geralt of Rivia.
The first season was so popular that it actually ended up being one of Netflix’s most successful first seasons ever, with over 76 million people watching at least two minutes of the show in the first few months following the premiere. This is quite the achievement, given the list of the best Netflix original series of all time (which we’ve rounded up HERE) is pretty stacked.
So, on account of the fact that I have a burning desire to be thirsty at work today, I thought I’d take a look at everything we know about The Witcher season 2.
Geralt’s adventure is only beginning….
The Witcher has been renewed for Season 2! pic.twitter.com/6iPrUFeujI
— Netflix (@netflix) November 13, 2019
WARNING: Spoilers ahead, don’t keep reading if you haven’t seen season 1 of The Witcher. You’ve been warned.
The Witcher trailer
Netflix dropped the season 2 trailer today and it’s literally all we care about:
https://youtu.be/TJFVV2L8GKs
The Witcher Season 2 Release Date
After what’s felt like one helluva wait, the second season will finally drop on December 17.
There were some bumps along the road with filming for season 2. Netflix show had to halt production in March 2020 as a result of the coronavirus pandemic (thanks ‘rona!), but it resumed in August only to be shut down *again* in November for COVID reasons.
Oh, Henry Cavill also (aka Geralt, aka my boyfriend) injured his leg on set in December, which resulted in him taking a short break from filming to recover, according to Deadline.
But thankfully, it looks like he healed up quickly,
“We are in lockdown here the UK so I’m using my once a day outdoor exercise to go for my first jog since my hamstring injury,” he wrote on Instagram in January.
“It wasn’t fast, and it certainly [wasn’t] far, but it has been a major step in my recovery, and my first step to getting back into the groove after a Christmas that may have involved more than a few cups of mulled wine, and an exceptionally fat Turkey,” he wrote.
The Witcher Season 2 Cast
The three main cast members Henry Cavill (Geralt), Anya Chalotra (Yennefer) and Freya Allan (Ciri) are all confirmed to be returning for The Witcher season 2, which is hardly surprising considering their characters are still in the books that the show is based on.
“I’m so thrilled that before fans have even seen our first season, we are able to confirm that we’ll be returning to The Continent again to continue telling the stories of Geralt, Yennefer and Ciri,” showrunner and creator Lauren Schmidt Hissrich said in a statement when season 2 was first confirmed.
Additionally, most of the cast from season 1 including Triss (Anna Shaffer), Jaskier (Joey Batey), Cahir (Eamon Farren), Tissaia (MyAnna Buring), Stregobor (Lars Mikkelson), Artorius (Terence Maynard), Filavandrel (Tom Canton), Murta (Lilly Cooper), Sabrina (Therica Wilson Read), Yarpen Zigrin (Jeremy Crawford), and Istredd (Royce Pierreson) will all be back in season 2.
But season 2 will also see a bunch of new additions including Paul Bullion of Peaky Blinders fame and Krisofer Hivju from Game of Thrones.
In March, Netflix announced seven more new cast members who are set to join the show, including some of your favourites from Bridgerton, Outlander and Downton Abbey.
The Witcher Season 2 — meet the latest cast additions:
Adjoa Andoh as Nenneke
Cassie Clare as Phillippa Eilhart
Liz Carr as Fenn
Graham McTavish as Dijkstra
Kevin Doyle as Ba’lian
Simon Callow as Codringher
Chris Fulton as Rience pic.twitter.com/jkvgTYMfVv— Netflix (@netflix) March 22, 2021
However, thanks to COVID, one of the actors Thue Ersted Rasmussen, who was set to play a fellow Witcher named Eskel had to pull out of the show due to scheduling conflicts.
“It’s heartbreaking, of course, but I mostly feel happy and grateful for the days I got to spend on set earlier this year,” he wrote on Instagram at the time.
He will now be replaced by Basil Eidenbenz, a 27-year-old Swiss actor who has previously starred in historical drama Victoria.
The Witcher Season 2 Trailer
We don’t have a trailer for season 2 yet, largely because COVID has basically said “fuck you Henry Cavill, I don’t want to see you shirtless.” It’s all very sad, I know. And yes, I feel as though this entire virus is a personal attack on anyone who is horny for Henry Cavill.
But thankfully, he did give us a wee little sneak peek of season 2 on his Instagram in late 2020 and hooooooo boy.
“‘It may turn out,’ said the white-haired man a moment later, ‘that their comrades or cronies may ask what befell these evil men. Tell them the Wolf bit them. The White Wolf. And add that they should keep glancing over their shoulders. One day they’ll look back and see the Wolf.’” – From the writings of Andrzej Sapkowski,” he captioned the photo on Instagram.
Netflix also gifted us with the first page of the season 2 script on Twitter last year as a Witchmas gift.
“Season 2. Page 1. Where will #TheWitcher take us this season? #Witchmas,” Netflix wrote on Twitter.
Season 2. Page 1.
Where will #TheWitcher take us this season? #Witchmas pic.twitter.com/3R73RCvrnL
— Queue (@netflixqueue) December 22, 2020
UPDATE:
After 84 years, we finally have a teeny, tiny teaser.
Here we – here we – HERE WE BLOODY GO.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CP_JoeuJ8K5/
Holy shit.
The Witcher Season 2 Plot
We already know that The Witcher season 2 is set to be “more intense” than the first season, according to Digital Spy.
“What I would say is that season one is very much about building blocks. It’s about constructing the world, and setting up these characters, and putting them on paths, and knocking those dominoes over,” Hissrich said in an interview.
“When you get to season 2, all of those things start to come to play, which is that characters start meeting each other – sometimes getting along, sometimes not. All those things that we set up – Geralt and Yennefer, Geralt and Ciri, Yennefer and Ciri – all of the different kingdoms that you just barely hear about in season one, start rising to the surface in season two.
“So the storytelling is a little more intense in a way, and maybe a little more focused and driven in the journeys that we’re telling in season 2.”
We also have a synopsis, by the way.
“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,” it reads.
“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.”
Dun, dun, DUNNN.
Will The Timelines Be Jumbled Like In Season 1?
Short answer: no.
The first season of the show was actually based on the first two books in The Witcher series – The Last Wish and Sword of Destiny – neither of which are actually in the main series. Basically, these books set the scene and provide the characters’ backstory before the real shiz begins.
But thankfully, everyone is finally going to be existing on the same timeline in season 2, which will make for a much easier Netflix binge.
“What we’ll see in season 2 is that all of our characters are existing on the same timeline. What that allows us to do storywise though is to play with time in slightly different ways. We get to do flashbacks, we get to do flash-forwards, we get to actually integrate time in a completely different way that we weren’t able to do in season 1,” Hissrich told The Wrap.
Which Books Will Season 2 Be Based On?
Netflix is yet to confirm this for a fact, but the next book in the series – the first book in the official saga – is Blood of Elves.
Basically, this is where the story *really* begins, and you can think of season 1 as a sort-of prequel to the real stuff.
If you haven’t already, you’re going to want to head to Netflix and binge all of the first season before The Witcher season 2 drops later this year. But it’s probably wise to avoid the books if you want spoiler-free watching.
What Other The Witcher Projects Are In The Works?
If two seasons of The Witcher isn’t enough for you, you’re in luck because they aren’t stopping there.
For starters, Netflix is giving us The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf, an animated film that is also the work of Schmidt Hissrich.
“Presenting your very first look at the “Nightmare of the Wolf” logo. The Continent’s future is bright,” the show wrote on Instagram back in December.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CJDq1eIhLOj/
Additionally, there’s a live-action prequel series entitled The Witcher: Blood Origins in the works. This project was first announced back in July last year and is set 1200 years before Geralt. It’s a six-part limited series, which is perfect binge content if you ask me.
WitcherCon 2021 (!!!)
That’s right – Netflix and CD Projekt Red (the developer of The Witcher video game series) have teamed up for WitcherCon, coming soon to a screen near you.
The event is slated for July 9, which is probably when we’ll cop the official trailer. I hope so, anyway.
A pairing more powerful than silver and steel: @Netflix and @CDPROJEKTRED are so excited to celebrate our Witcher family and bring you the very first #WitcherCon on July 9! Stay tuned for more info in the coming weeks! #GeekedWeek pic.twitter.com/6wxsW9ZH26
— The Witcher (@witchernetflix) June 11, 2021
We’ll be sure to update this story as more information about The Witcher season 2 becomes available. In the meantime, you can stream season 1 on Netflix now. Go on, do it. There’s a shirtless Henry Cavill waiting for you! If that doesn’t do it for you, have a perve at our list of the sexiest movies on Netflix HERE.
And once you’re done with The Witcher, head to our round-up of the best new Netflix series HERE to find a fresh obsession. You’re welcome.
