If there was any doubt that Netflix was firmly behind The Witcher franchise, that uncertainty can be put to rest.
Netflix didn’t stop with a season 3 renewal for the series during its first-ever Tudum preview event over the weekend. The Witcher will also expand with a new anime movie, a family-friendly TV series set in the franchise, and the previously announced live-action prequel series, The Witcher: Blood Origin. That’s a lot of coins to be throwing at your Witcher!
While video game fans largely know The Witcher from CD Projekt RED’s blockbuster console titles, the characters and stories were all created by novelist Andrzej Sapkowski. The first season adapted many of Sapkowski’s short stories from The Last Wish and Sword of Destiny. However, the second season will begin with a new take on a fan-favorite tale, A Grain of Truth, which introduced Geralt (Henry Cavill) to Nivellen, a man cursed to live in the form of a beast.
One of the first clips from season 2 features the first look at Game of Thrones veteran Kristofer Hivju as Nivellen. For context, this scene takes place shortly after Geralt and Ciri (Freya Allan) have taken refuge in Nivellen’s home. Geralt is taking Ciri to his childhood home, Kaer Morhen. That’s where Witchers are made, and neither Geralt nor Nivellen want to see Ciri go down that road.
The next clip also comes from the second season premiere, as Geralt alerts Ciri to a threat within Nivellen’s home. He also shows her a glimpse of his dark side when he warns her that she may have to leave without him.
If you need a refresher of the first season’s major events, Netflix has a recap trailer that revisits all of the major beats.
Netflix also offered fans a behind-the-scenes glimpse from The Witcher: Blood Origin, courtesy of a set tour from showrunner Declan de Barra.
Netflix hasn’t set a date yet for Blood Origin. However, The Witcher season 2 will debut in its entirety on December 17. In addition to Cavill and Allan, the returning cast members are Anya Chalotra as Yennefer of Vengerberg, MyAnna Buring as Tissaia, and Joey Batey as Jaskier.
New additions to the cast for season 2 include Kim Bodnia, Paul Bullion, Yasen Atour, Agnes Bjorn, Basil Eidenbenz, Aisha Fabienne Ross, and Mecia Simson.
