Vasemir in The Witcher
Redanian Intelligence returns to What’s on Netflix to take us through the big headlines regarding Netflix’s The Witcher universe. Here’s your October 2021 roundup of what’s new for The Witcher.
In August, Netflix finally delivered new Witcher content in the anime film The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf, a feature that introduced us to Vesemir. With the anime film released, the next release on the Netflix Witcher calendar is the series second season, which is dropping on the streaming service on December 17. That means there are still a couple of months left before Geralt, Yennefer, and Ciri reunite on our screens, but Netflix was kind enough to ease our wait with some brand new footage of season two at the TUDUM event.
Meanwhile, another prequel titled The Witcher: Blood Origin is being filmed in various locations throughout the United Kingdom, and pictures have begun to leak from the set alongside fresh casting news. On top of that, showrunner Lauren Hissrich has announced not one but three new Witcher projects. For all that and more, read our roundup of the month’s news from the Continent.
Latest Witcher News:
- The Witcher Season 3 officially announced alongside two new Witcher projects
- New footage of Season 2 revealed at Netflix’s TUDUM event
- The Witcher: Blood Origin casts The Last Kingdom and Knightfall stars and more
- Blood Origin cast and crew caught filming across the UK and a new Behind-the-Scenes video
- The Witcher Season 2 enlists the composer behind Shadow and Bone
The Witcher Season 3 officially announced alongside two new Witcher projects
Though we were all expecting some new footage of season two to be revealed at Netflix’s TUDUM event, a reveal by showrunner Lauren Hissrich caught us all by surprise. Not only did the showrunner officially confirm The Witcher season three, which has been in development for a few months now (as we reported previously), she also announced two brand new Witcher projects.
The first of these new projects is a second anime film set in the Witcher universe. This comes as no surprise, as the series’ first anime film was well received by the fanbase. There is currently no news on whether the second anime film will be a sequel to Nightmare of the Wolf and another Vesemir adventure, or if it will tell a completely different story.
The other new Witcher project revealed at TUDUM was a big surprise: Netflix is now developing a “fun-filled kids and family series” set on the Continent. Shortly after the reveal, the showrunner responded to fan backlash regarding the series.
I agree, The Witcher is a dark, mature universe. I'd go further. It's controversial. Political. A microcosm of humanity, for all its goodness and evil.
But I believe — STRONGLY believe — that the moral dilemmas and ethical grayness that adults love in this universe — https://t.co/J1dqMLipOk
— Lauren S. Hissrich (@LHissrich) September 27, 2021
“The Witcher is a dark, mature universe. I’d go further. It’s controversial. Political. A microcosm of humanity, for all its goodness and evil. But I believe — STRONGLY believe — that the moral dilemmas and ethical grayness that adults love in this universe can be extrapolated to stories that kids in this chaotic world desperately need, and could benefit from.”
“I say this as the mom of an 8 year old and a 10 year old. They’ve begged me to watch the show. They can’t. It’s not appropriate, too mature and dark, as you say. But. If I can sit with them and watch a version they love, one they can laugh at, one they feel “gets them” and their small but meaningful place in the world — but that can also serve as a foundation from which to talk about big topics, racism, sexism, what it means to be a monster? And how we can fight back against those bleak black holes of humanity, so everyone knows there’s a place for them? Then I’m in. And yes, I hope this extends the brand viewership. I love The Witcher world. And I want more people to love it, too, no matter their age. Don’t you?”
New footage of Season 2 revealed at Netflix’s TUDUM event
The main event in The Witcher’s portion of TUDUM was the new footage from season two, which includes two full clips from the season’s first episode. This episode will adapt the short story A Grain of Truth, which parodies the fairy tale of “The Beauty and the Beast”. Guest-starring as the Beast is Game of Thrones alum Kristofer Hivju (better known as Tormund Giantsbane), who’s submerged in makeup, costuming, and CGI as the season’s first new monster. In the clip, Henry Cavill’s Geralt discusses the nature of witchers with Hivju’s Nivellen.
Besides this clip, a second scene was shown from later in the episode. This clip teases a fight between Geralt and a bruxa (the “Beauty” in this parody of the fairy tale is somewhat of a beast herself). This one also features Freya Allan’s Ciri, who will be joining Geralt in Nivellen’s mansion in the Netflix adaption of the short story. This is one of two significant deviations from the novels confirmed in the new footage, the other being that Geralt and Nivellen are “old friends” in the Netflix adaption (whereas, they did not know each other in the book).
Last but not least, Netflix has revealed a new “Road to Season 2” trailer which includes footage from both seasons. The greatest highlight in the trailer is the debut of Kim Bodnia‘s Vesemir, who’s approximately a hundred years older than the Vesemir we meet in the anime film Nightmare of the Wolf. The trailer includes new footage of Anya Chalotra’s Yennefer, as well as appearances from Jaskier, Fringilla, Cahir, and Tissaia. If you’re interested in an in-depth breakdown of the new footage, check out our frame-by-frame analysis.
The Witcher: Blood Origin casts The Last Kingdom and Knightfall stars and more
While Netflix has been marketing Nightmare of the Wolf and The Witcher season two, production is well underway for the third project set in the Witcher universe: The Witcher: Blood Origin. This prequel will be set hundreds of years before the main storyline of the show and will focus on the events that led up the Conjunction of the Spheres (when the worlds of men, elves, and monsters collided). Now that filming has begun, Redanian Intelligence has uncovered some new cast members.
Famous for the role of Finan in Netflix’s Viking drama The Last Kingdom, actor Mark Rowley has been cast in the role of Prince Alvitir. We have no further information about the role at the moment, but it’s possible this character is a sibling to the previously revealed character Princess Merwyn (Mirren Mack).
British actress Claire Cooper who’s had significant roles in Knightfall, Hollyoaks and Snatch will portray Aevenin. Though we don’t know anything about her role in the show, this particular name may have originated from Andrzej Sapkowski’s novels. A character by the name of Aevenien is mentioned in the novels, and she is the mother of a legendary elven seeress called Ithlinne, whose full name reads Ithlinne aegli aep Aevenien (daughter of Aevenien). Coincidentally, The Witcher season two is set to introduce Ilithinne in a flashback or vision sequence. If Aevenin from Blood Origin is actually Ilthinne’s mother, this would serve as the prequel’s second major connection to the main series following the casting of Eredin in the prequel and season two.
Additional cast members revealed throughout September include Guy Rhys (Doctors, Emmerdale) as Cavaro and Aidan O’Callaghan (Wolfe, The Rook) as Kareg.
Blood Origin cast and crew caught filming across the UK, and a new Behind-the-Scenes video
With filming underway in various locations across the United Kingdom, more and more pictures are turning up from the set of Blood Origin.
It began with a return to Frensham Little Pond, where The Witcher filmed a reunion between Geralt and Yennefer for season two. The Blood Origin cast and crew filmed at the pond for numerous days, including scenes with multiple actors and extras. Thanks to some talented onlookers, we were able to share the first-ever look at these actors in their costumes, including a possible first look at Michelle Yeoh’s character Scian and Laurence O’Fuarain‘s Fjall. Additionally, the Daily Mail was able to obtain high-quality pictures of Lenny Henry who plays the druid Balor at this location, and Sophia Brown‘s Eile was also present.
First look at @LennyHenry as Chief Druid Balor in 'The Witcher: Blood Origin" (via @DailyMailTV) pic.twitter.com/rHIIeso5wf
— Redanian Intelligence: The Witcher (@RedanianIntel) September 19, 2021
Shortly after filming was completed at the pond, production relocated to Yorkshire’s Ilkley Moor and Ilkley Quarry, where scenes were filmed featuring a massive elven army. O’Fuarain was among the cast members on location, and he shared an image on Instagram suggesting that he is “halfway through” the filming of the series.
Lastly, Blood Origin showrunner Declan de Barra shared a behind-the-scenes video from Arborfield Studios and Iceland during the TUDUM event. The video (linked at the beginning of this section) provides an amusing look at the cast and crew on location but shares no new details about the plot.
The Witcher Season 2 enlists the composer behind Shadow and Bone
The Witcher’s first season was praised for its unique soundtrack, composed by Sonya Belusova and Giona Ostinelli, who were responsible for “Toss a Coin to Your Witcher” as well as every other audible treat in the show. Though we do not know if they will reprise their roles as composers for season two, we have now learned that Netflix has attached another composer to the project.
According to Joseph Trapanese’s Incite Management page, the Shadow and Bone alum will be composing music for The Witcher season two. As fans of Shadow and Bone will no doubt attest, Trapense is incredibly talented and will no doubt do a great job as composer in season two. Other than Netflix’s Shadow and Bone, Trapanese has composed the soundtrack for Tron: Legacy, Oblivion, Raid and The Greatest Showman.
This concludes our October roundup of Witcher news. With all these Witcher projects in the works, the Continent is growing much larger, and we can’t wait to see what’s in store. For all the latest Witcher news (and the occasional meme), make sure to follow the Redanian Intelligence Twitter page.
Netflix Synopsis: "As monarchs, mages, and beasts of the Continent compete to capture her, Geralt takes Ciri 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 they hope to uncover 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.
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