Netflix’s hit fantasy drama The Witcher will soon be back on our screens with new episodes. The streaming giant has officially renewed the Henry Cavill-led series for a third season, promising to continue the adventures of Cavill’s Geralt of Rivia, the titular Witcher.
The series was not a critical favorite at the time of its 2019 launch, but it quickly found a home with viewers. According to Business Insider, The Witcher was the third most popular streaming series in the United States at its launch, behind only giants Stranger Things and The Mandalorian. Anticipation for the series was so high, in fact, that a second season was ordered before the first was even released. A third season renewal also came ahead of the second season’s debut in December 2021.
As the new season is set to officially begin production, let’s take a look at everything we know about season 3 of The Witcher. Who is returning from the cast, and will there be any new faces? What will the plot entail? When can we expect to see the season released? And what else should fans know about the highly anticipated return of The Witcher?
Plot: What We Know
The Witcher is based on a series of adventure fantasy novels of the same name by Polish author Andrezj Sapkowski. Executives at Netflix originally wanted to adapt the series into a standalone movie but eventually changed it to a series in order to explore the worlds in greater depth. The show’s first season was based on the first two titles in the book series, The Last Wish and Sword of Destiny, while the second season took inspiration from the novels Blood of Elves and Time of Contempt. While nothing has been revealed about how the third season will tie in with the novels, we can assume that it will adapt material from the remaining books in the series.
The first season was primarily devoted to setting up the characters and depicting the relationship between Cavill’s Geralt of Rivia and Princess Ciri of Centra. The season had multiple timelines, each showing a significant moment in the characters’ lives before coming together into one timeline. The second season built on this, developing the relationship between Geralt and Ciri and other characters such as sorceress Yennefer and Geralt’s mentor Vesemir.
While we do not yet know the specifics of what the characters will face in season 3, we do have a general idea from the logline. Per Deadline:
As monarchs, mages, and beasts of the Continent compete to capture her, Geralt takes Ciri of Cintra into hiding, determined to protect his newly-reunited family against those who threaten to destroy it. Entrusted with Ciri’s magical training, Yennefer leads them to the protected fortress of Aretuza, where she hopes to discover more about the girl’s untapped powers; instead, they discover they’ve landed in a battlefield of political corruption, dark magic, and treachery. They must fight back, put everything on the line — or risk losing each other forever”
This gives viewers just enough information to have a sense of what Geralt, Ciri, and others may face in the third season while still leaving ambiguity to build speculation.
Cast: What We Know
As of this writing, little information about the third season’s cast has been released. However, the logline gives an idea of which characters the viewers can expect to see. Henry Cavill’s Geralt will be back as the lead star, as will Freya Allen as Princess Ciri and Anya Chalotra as Yennefer.
In addition to these three, notable stars of the first two seasons included Eamon Farren as army commander Cahir, Joey Batey as traveling bard Jaskier, Anna Schaffer as sorceress Triss Marigold, Mahesh Jadu as sorcerer Vilgefortz of Roggeveen, and Kim Bodnia as Geralt’s mentor Vesemir, among many other supporting and secondary players. Audiences will have to wait and see for more cast announcements, which will likely follow in the coming months as we get closer to the release date.
Release Date
There is no set release date at this time for the third season, which has recently begun filming. The first season was released in December 2019, and the second season was released in December 2021. If that schedule is maintained, viewers could expect to see the third season come to Netflix around December 2023. However, the production of season two was delayed by a number of COVID-related issues and shutdowns on set. Assuming season three does not have to face these same roadblocks, it is possible it could be released much sooner.
Everything Else: The Witcher Spin-Off
Despite the potentially long wait until the third season, viewers can hold themselves over with the new spin-off projects in the works. In August 2021, Netflix released The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf, an animated film that centered on the origin story of Geralt’s mentor Vesemir. The Witcher: Blood Origin is an upcoming prequel miniseries set 1,200 years before the main series, focusing on the creation of the original Witcher. Starring Sophia Brown, Laurence O’Fuarain, and Michelle Yeoh in the lead roles, the prequel is set to be released sometime in 2022.
It’s clear that The Witcher is rapidly becoming the next big fantasy TV franchise, and Netflix is eager to expand it as much as possible. For now, all that viewers can do is wait and see if the third season lives up to the massive hype surrounding this ever-growing franchise.