The Witcher season 2 release date, cast, and everything else we know

The Witcher season 2 is almost here: It'll be on Netflix in December, two years after the first season premiered. Production of The Witcher season 2 was slowed down by Covid-19 precautions, but the Netflix show managed to wrap up filming in April 2021 and is now "deep" into post-production, with a December 17, 2021 release date.  

In The Witcher season 2, the story should progress in some interesting (more linear) ways now that the first season has set the stage with its disjointed timeline that hopped between Andrzej Sapkowski's stories from the Witcher books. It's focused on what happens when Geralt and Ciri, who spent the first season more or less looking for each other, finally unite. 

Here's everything we know about The Witcher's second season: 

The Witcher season 2 trailer

The Witcher season 2 episode titles

There are "clues" in the titles, Netflix says, and it has named all of them except for the season finale. Here they are:

1. A Grain of Truth
2. Kaer Morhen
3. What is Lost
4. Redanian Intelligence
5. Turn Your Back
6. Dear Friend
7. Voleth Meir
8. ...and a "top secret" episode title

The Witcher season 2 cast: who's new?

Four familiar witchers are joining the cast for season 2. Firstly, Geralt's grizzled old father figure Vesemir will make an appearance, played by Kim Bodnia. He's the oldest and wisest living witcher in the world on top being the man who raised Geralt at Kaer Morhen from a young age—he made Geralt the witcher he is today (literally). The other three are Eskel, who will be played by Thue Ersted Rasmussen, sarcastic jerk witcher Lambert, who will be played by Paul Bullion, and Ciri's sword combat trainer Coën, who will be played by Yasen Atour.

Another interesting casting: Kristofer Hivju will play Nivellin. Fans of the books will likely recognize that name from The Last Wish, one of the most popular Witcher stories. Hivju, who played Tormund Giantsbane in Game of Thrones, is as close as it comes to perfect casting.

Here are the new faces in The Witcher season 2:

• Vesemir - Kim Bodnia
• Eskel - Thue Ersted Rasmussen
• Lambert - Paul Bullion
• Coën - Yasen Atour
• Nivellin - Kristofer Hivju
• Philippa Eilhart - Cassie Clare
• Dijkstra - Graham McTavish
• Rience - Chris Fulton
• Codringher - Simon Callow
• Ba'lian - Kevin Doyle
• Fenn - Liz Carr
• Nenneke - Adjoa Andoh
• Francesca - Mecia Simson
• Lydia - Aisha Fabienne Ross
• Eskel - Basil Eidenbenz
• Lambert - Paul Bullion
• Vereena - Bjorn
• Coën Agnes - Yasen Atour
• Queen Meve - Rebecca Hanssen
• King Henselt - Edward Rowe

What's the plot of The Witcher season 2?

Netflix has released the teaser for The Witcher's season 2 plot. "Convinced Yennefer's life was lost at the Battle of Sodden, Geralt of Rivia brings Princess Cirilla to the safest place he knows, his childhood home of Kaer Morhen. While the Continent's kings, elves, humans and demons strive for supremacy outside its walls, he must protect the girl from something far more dangerous: the mysterious power she possesses inside."

Based on some photos captured by Redanian Intelligence during filming, it sure looks like season 2 will include the wild hunt. The Wild Hunt are the final enemies and subtitle of The Witcher 3, while readers of the novels will recognize them from their pursuit of Ciri beginning in the fourth book, Time of Contempt. We don't know just yet how large of an appearance these spooky riders will make.

We've also been told that the plot of season 2 will be much more linear. Now that all of The Witcher's main characters are together in one place (and one time), Season 2's timeline will be much easier to follow, Hissrich explained in an AMA with fans. That said, the simpler timeline lets the writers use time in a way they couldn't in Season 1. Season 2 will use flashbacks to explore Geralt's past, for instance.

According to showrunner Lauren Hissrich, season 2 will also "dig deeper into Cahir and Fringilla," the bad guys of the plot thus far. If that's not sounding super familiar, Andy Kelly has recapped each episode from The Witcher's first season in case you need a refresher before season 2:

The Witcher season 1 recaps

1. The End's Beginning
2. Four Marks
3. Betrayer Moon
4. Of Banquets, Bastards, and Burials
5. Bottled Appetites
6. Rare Species
7. Before a Fall
8. Much More

Geralt, Ciri, and Jaskier's season 2 looks

Geralt has gotten some much chunkier armor for season 2. Ciri, on the other hand, is dressing down. She looks like she'll be doing a lot of growing up at Kaer Morhen. Jaskier, meanwhile, has a more "rock and roll" look, in actor Joey Batey's words. ("It's definitely something," he joked.)

The Witcher season 2 teaser images

In December, Netflix started revealing some teaser images relating to The Witcher season 2 with polls for fans to pick what should be shown. Somehow, instead of choosing to see a season 2 script page, the Law Of Surprise option won out. How appropriate. It got us a bunch of glamor shots of Jaskier, and yet people are still voting for the Law Of Surprise in the following polls. That's some Witchmas commitment. 

All told, here's what the week of Witchmas 2020 brought us in teasers for The Witcher season 2:

• Teaser images of props on set
• Jaskier's glamour photo shoot
• A Witcher bestiary documentary
• A season one blooper reel
• An interview with Roach (yes, the horse)
• A logo for the animated Witcher series
• A season 2 script page

Season 3 is probably definitely confirmed

A posting on the Writer's Guild of America database was spotted by fan blog Redanian Intelligence. That posting added "The Witcher Season 3 (2020-2021)" to executive-producer-writer-showrunner Lauren Hissrich's credits. The Writer's Guild of America is a very large union body, so it's pretty unlikely that they'd just make this up. Season 2 was confirmed before Season 1 aired as well, so it's pretty believable.

Where should I start with The Witcher?

Totally new to The Witcher, or just want a refresher before starting the show? Jody breaks down what you need to know in our beginner's guide to The Witcher. If the show has gotten you interested in the source material, we also have a guide to The Witcher books to help you sort out what order to read them in.

Semi-related, Jody also wrote a very serious assessment of Netflix's The Witcher vs the 2002 Polish TV show—which has some positive qualities of its own!

The Witcher's showrunner already has seven seasons mapped out

The Witcher series showrunner Lauren Hissrich is optimistic for the success of the show, and says she already has six more season mapped out if all goes well. Speaking before the second season was confirmed, she said: 

"We don't have a second season yet—God willing we will—but right now it's just about, 'How do you set up stories that really capture audiences for years at a time?' The worst thing we could do is put all of our energies just into season one, and not be thinking about where these characters can grow to." 

There's a lot of material to pull from: six novels, two short story collections, and three videogames with a wealth of excellent stories. (Although the show just adapts the books.)

Henry Cavill is a big fan of The Witcher

It turns out Cavill actually sought out The Witcher after finding out it was being produced.

"I played the games—they released a game called Witcher 3 about five years ago now. Played that game to death," he told Jimmy Kimmel. "Then I heard it was coming out—I met the showrunner, and that's when I learned there were books. Read the books and realized that I was missing out on a whole world of the stuff. Because I'd been into the fantasy genre since I was a kid—since before I could read, my dad was reading me fantasy books."

Following the release of season 1, Cavill spoke further about his love of PC gaming.

Where is The Witcher being filmed?

The first season of The Witcher on Netflix was filmed primarily in eastern Europe. 

"WE'LL BE SHOOTING IN EASTERN EUROPE. Yes!" tweeted Hissrich. "This show couldn't exist anyplace else. Period." Quite a bit of filming was done in Hungary, including Budapest and other locations. The crew also visited the Canary Islands in Spain and, naturally, a castle in Poland as well.

Season 2 was filmed in London and elsewhere within the UK.

The directors for season 2 have been revealed

The directors for each episode of The Witcher season 2 have been revealed. Episodes 1 and 2 were directed by Stephen Surjik, who has previously directed episodes of The Umbrella Academy, Bates Model, Luke Cage, and The X-Files.

Episodes 2, 3, and 4 were directed by Sarah O'Gorman, who has previously directed episodes of The Last Kingdom, Death in Paradise, and Jamestown.

Episodes 5 and 8 were directed by Ed Bazalgette, whose previous directing work includes episodes of Doctor Who, Poldark, The Last Kingdom, and EastEnders, the long-running UK soap opera.

Episodes 6 and 7 were directed by Louise Hooper, a director whose past work includes UK shows like Cold Feet, Casualty, Vera, and Doctors.

Here's the list in full, via Redanian Intelligence:

Episode 1: Stephen Surjik
Episode 2: Stephen Surjik
Episode 3: Sarah O’Gorman
Episode 4: Sarah O’Gorman
Episode 5: Ed Bazalgette
Episode 6: Louise Hooper
Episode 7: Louise Hooper
Episode 8: Ed Bazalgette

The Witcher season 1 gallery

A Witcher anime film is coming to Netflix

The Witcher show has been a great success for Netflix. So great, in fact, that another Witcher story is on the way to the service. The anime film, called The Witcher: The Nightmare of the Wolf, is in the works from Witcher showrunner Lauren Hissrich and Studio Mir (the animation studio behind The Legend of Korra and the new Voltron show).

Netflix says the film will "take us back to a new threat facing the Continent." We don't know much more beyond that, but considering it's already in development, Nightmare of the Wolf likely to come out before The Witcher's second season. The Witcher already seems like a great fit for the dramatic action of anime. I can already imagine Geralt's flashy sword moves exaggerated in animation.

Prequel series The Witcher: Blood Origin is in the works

Yup, it sounds like continuing the Witcher series and working on an animated movie aren't enough. Netflix has also given the green light to a prequel series exploring the origins of the first Witcher.

"1200 years before Geralt of Rivia, the worlds of monsters, men and elves merged into one, and the first Witcher came to be," the announcement reads. The Witcher showrunner Lauren Hissrich is co-creating it with Declan de Barra, who also wrote an episode in the first season. It will be a six-part series.

Blood Origin recently cast Jodie Turner-Smith as its lead character Éile who has left her life as an elite warrior to become a traveling musician. 

Yes, there's a tub, and Geralt is in it

Witchers get dirty, after all.