The critically acclaimed TheWitcher series is now filming its second season. Netflix hasn’t released a concrete release date yet, but it should be arriving sometime next year.
The Witcher’s first season premiered December 2019 on Netflix and has quickly cemented itself as a flagship series. Based on the novels of the same name by Andrej Sapkowski, it features the adventures of Geralt of Rivia, a magically enchanted monster-hunter as he traverses “The Continent” (The world that the story takes place in). The first season featured 6 episodes and the second promises the same.
According to Deadline, in addition to the four main actors of season one, Henry Cavill (Geralt of Rivia), Anya Chalotra (Yennefer), Freya Allan (Ciri), and Joey Batey (Jaskier), seven new cast members have been announced:
Yasen Atour will be playing Coën, a fellow witcher and mentor to Ciri. Yasen is known for his roles in the 2016 Ben Hur Remake as well as Young Wallander which debuted just this year.
Agnes Bjorn will be playing Vereena.
Paul Bullion from the hit series Peaky Blinders will be playing Lambert, a younger witcher that resides within the halls of Kaer Morhen.
Thue Ersted Rasmussen will be playing Eskel, a level-headed and calm companion of Geralt.
Aisha Fabien Ross (known for 2015’s The Danish Girl) will be playing Lydia, a sorceress.
Mecia Simson will be playing Francesca, an elf and sorceress.
However, perhaps the most exciting of the announcements is the casting of Kristofer Hivju as Nivellen. Hivju is known for his role as Tormund Giantsbane in the Game of Thrones series. Critics have been drawing parallels between The Witcher and Game of Thrones since the first episode, but Kristofer is the only actor that’s made the leap thus far.
The newly announced cast affirms an increased focus on building the lore and expanding the world of The Witcher. The addition of new witchers indicates that in the next season we should be learning more about Geralt’s past and the elusive Kaer Morhen, the home and training grounds of the witchers.
Fans can also anticipate further announcements regarding the cast, as some pivotal roles have still not been filled, including Vesemir, a senior witcher and a mentor to Ciri and Geralt has not been cast yet. In addition, Netflix also announced the development of an animated movie, The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf by Studio Mir, the creators of Avatar the Last Airbender: Legend of Korra. No release date has been announced as of yet.