The highly anticipated second season of Netflix's The Witcher was released back in December, with the hit-fantasy series receiving mixed reviews due to multiple changes from its original source material. Earlier today, the official Twitter account for The Witcher has revealed several concept arts giving fans a close-up look at the infamous Wild Hunt for the very first time. Although the Wild Hunt did make a brief appearance during the latest season, these brand new photos definitely give fans a better idea of what Geralt will be going up against in the later seasons. You can take a look at the official concept arts of the Wild Hunt used for The Witcher season 2 below.

The season 2 finale of The Witcher ended with its three main characters, Geralt, Yennefer, and Ciri, together at Kaer Morhen following a fairly close encounter with the Wild Hunt on another sphere. For those that have been keeping up with The Witcher universe, it's definitely obvious that the Wild Hunt will be making a lot more appearances in the coming seasons since they play a big role in the overall franchise. While fans have to wait for the release of its third season sometime in early 2023, a prequel series titled The Witcher: Blood Origin, will take place 1200 years before the events of the main series, and will feature many key revelations about the creation of the first Witcher, as well as the “Conjunction of the Spheres,” and the Wild Hunt. All of this is expected to play heavily into The Witcher season 3.

The Witcher‘s showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich had previously told IGN that the Wild Hunt is the series’ answer to Thanos. They all have their own origins and purpose. Lauren Hissrich also says that the show is “going to get a little bit deeper into them, so they’re not just the evil skeletal bad guys.” The concept art for the Netflix series eerily resembles the original design from CD Projekt Red's work on The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt video game. It's quite obvious that the similarities between the video game and the Netflix series are an intentional attempt.

The Wild Hunt, Explained

Gwent_triptych_monsters_wild_hunt

The Wild Hunt, also known as Wraiths of Mörhogg, was widely believed to be a group of specters that gallop in the sky. They were described by common folk as a cavalcade of wraiths on undead horses galloping across the sky during storms, and serving as an omen of war. They are actually a group of Aen Elle elves from Tir ná Lia who also call themselves the Dearg Ruadhri in their native Elder Speech, meaning Red Riders. They are led by the General, and later King, Eredin Bréacc Glas, commonly known as the King of the Wild Hunt.

The Wild Hunt's true purpose was to find and capture slaves from other worlds, such as that of the Aen Seidhe, to serve the Alder Folk. However, they eventually set their sights on Ciri for her Elder Blood. The appearance of the Wild Hunt also foreshadows war, and woe. The spectral Wild Hunt sometimes appears in nightmares of the cursed or those touched by Destiny.

What are your thoughts about the "terrifying" close-up look of the Wild Hunt? What do you hope to see when they finally make their live-action debut in the series? The Witcher seasons 1 & 2 are currently available for streaming on Netflix. The Witcher: Blood Origin is scheduled to release sometime in 2022, with no exact date yet. The Witcher season 3 is currently expected to be released sometime in spring 2023.