It has now been officially announced that the second season of the Netflix series The Witcher will commence production on August 17. The news came from the streaming service via social media, who made the announcement in the form of a Jaskier style rhyme.
The Witcher was one of the first major shows to shut down production amid the ongoing global circumstances, so the fact that it is now coming back should provide some hope for other television and movie productions.
The news of when filming on The Witcher will finally resume comes not too long after Arborfield Studios in the UK announced that it planned to reopen in the coming weeks, pending the finalization of several new health and safety procedures. Filming on the series was shut down back in mid-March after the actor and Game of Thrones star Kristofer Hivju became unwell. Thankfully, the actor has since made a full recovery following self-isolation.
The first season of The Witcher follows a witcher named Geralt, a mutated monster hunter, who struggles to find his place in a world where people often prove more wicked than beasts. Set on a fictional, medieval-inspired landmass known as "the Continent", The Witcher explores the legend of Geralt and princess Ciri, who are linked by destiny to each other. The first season tells a non-linear story and follows the three main protagonists at different points of time, exploring formative events that shaped their characters, before eventually merging into a single timeline. The series is based on the fantasy drama book series of the same name by Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski.
The Witcher stars Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia, Anya Chalotra as Yennefer of Vengerberg, Freya Allan as Ciri, and Joey Batey as Jaskier. Several new cast members will be joining Cavill on his adventure through the monster-infested world of The Witcher including Robin Hood's Yasen Atour as Coën, Monster's Agnes Bjorn as Vereena, Peaky Blinders star Paul Bullion as Lambert, Fast and Furious 9's Thue Ersted Rasmussen as Eskel, The Danish Girl star Aisha Fabienne Ross as Lydia, acting newcomer Mecia Simson as Francesca, and Game of Thrones alumni Kristofer Hivju as Nivellen. The second season will also introduce fan-favorite character and witcher trainer Vesemir, played by Killing Eve's Kim Bodnia.
Whether the delay in production will affect the release date of The Witcher season 2 is unknown at this time, but it is possible that this will be the case. Showrunner Lauren S. Hissrich has stated in the past that the Netflix release date of 2021 had been left intentionally vague specifically to accommodate any major delays. It is expected that the series will now air in summer 2021. Season 1 of The Witcher is now available on Netflix. This announcement comes to us courtesy of the official The Witcher Twitter account.