The long-awaited third season of "The Witcher" is finally making its way to Netflix starting
in June 2023, and it's momentous for lots of reasons.
Here's a refresher before you dive into Henry Cavill's last hurrah as Geralt.
Netflix's official logline of the third season explains that Geralt and Ciriwill spend at
least part of the season in hiding, as pursuers seek to capture the young princess of Cintra.
Yennefer will be with them, too, leading them into the fortress of Aretuza as she investigates
Ciri's powers.
At the 2021 Lucca Comics & Games festival, showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich said the
writers were working on Season 3, adding,
"It's a really fun season, and it follows a particular book very closely, has a lot
of action, some death...
some death."
Hissrich later specified which book, telling Entertainment Weekly,
"Obviously, we can't do every page, but 'Time of Contempt' gave us so many big action events,
plot points, defining character moments, and huge reveals of a big bad.
There's so much to do that we were able to stick really, really closely with the books."
At 2022's TUDUM event, Anya Chalotra said we can expect some tension between Yennefer
and Ciri, adding,
"We've got a lot to learn from each other."
Henry Cavill, Anya Chalotra, and Freya Allen will all be back for Season 3 as Geralt, Yennefer,
and Ciri, although this will be the last time we see Cavill in the role.
He'll be replaced by Liam Hemsworth in Season 4, but Hissrich told EW that the show will
give Cavill "the most heroic sendoff that we could have."
In addition to the main trio, Netflix also confirmed many actors from Seasons 1 and 2
are back, including Joey Batey and Cassie Clare.
The streamer also announced the addition of four new members to the cast, including Robbie
Amell, who will play Gallatin — the leader of the Scoia'tael who fight for Nilfgaard.
Meng'er Zhang, who fans may remember from "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,"
also joins the cast as Milva, a huntress of the Brokilon Forest.
Hugh Skinner will play Prince Radovid, the younger brother of Ed Birch's King Vizimi.
Lastly, Christelle Elwin will portray Mistle, a member of the thieving Rats group.
Lauren Schmidt Hissrich is back as showrunner for Season 3 of "The Witcher" after helming
the previous two.
Fans of the book series should be excited to have Hissrich still around, as she's planning
to take the series far at Netflix.
When speaking with The Wrap in December 2021, the showrunner said the plan is to keep making
"The Witcher" until they have adapted all of author Andrzej Sapkowski's books.
She said,
"I have always said that I want to end our stories at the same place that Andrzej Sapkowski
ended his.
I just don't feel the need for us to keep creating stories after his intentional end.
The funny thing is, of course, since we have been working on the series, he's actually
released two new books."
According to Collider, it looks like Hissrich is working on a seven-season plan.
After what has felt like an eternity for fans waiting for Season 3 of "The Witcher" to hit
Netflix, the release dates have finally been set.
The first five episodes of Henry Cavill's final season as Geralt will premiere on June
29, 2023, with the last three episodes hitting the platform on July 27.
The third season was announced in a September 2021 tweet.
At the same time, Netflix also announced an animated spinoff for kids — yes, a children's
show based on the TV-MA "Witcher" — and a second animated film to follow "The Witcher:
Nightmare of the Wolf."
We haven't seen much development on those, but the four-episode prequel series "The Witcher
Blood Origin" debuted on the platform on Christmas Day 2022.
The fourth season of "The Witcher," with Liam Hemsworth in the role of Geralt, has also
already been announced.
Though there has been a fair amount of backlash around the casting change, actor Joey Batey
noted that it's more about love for Cavill than hate for Hemsworth, telling It's Gone
Viral of fans' appreciation for Cavill,
"Hopefully it shows less the intense side of it, but more the sheer affection and fondness
and love that they have for him."
At first glance, the new trailer for Season 3 doesn't give fans a whole lot of information
to work with.
Relying on chilling narration from Geralt over a series of intriguing images, it's a
master class in hyping an audience without giving anything away.
But there are still some tantalizing teases.
For starters, Philippa Eilhart seems to be stepping into her villain origin story as
she threatens Jaskier with a ring in the shape of a talon.
It's likely this has something to do with Ciri, given that her power has already turned
her into a serious beacon for bad vibes.
Speaking of bad vibes, it looks like Rience will be stepping in as a major antagonist
once more.
Yennefer burned his face and left him covered with serious scars, so chances are he's not
going to be on friendly terms.
It's still not clear who hired him to go after Ciri in the first season, so there's still
plenty of mystery to him.
These are two of the franchise's fan-favorite antagonists, so whatever they're up to, it's
likely not good for our heroes.
For anyone who loves the show but hasn't yet tried the books, Sapkowski's novels give far
more space to Geralt's complex inner world.
While TV excels at showing the titular Witcher in action, the novels have the extra benefit
of delving into his philosophy around his role.
The novel that's serving as the basis for season 3, "Time of Contempt," takes place
between the books "Blood of Elves" and "Baptism of Fire."
It follows Geralt giving everything to protect Ciri as a war between the Northern Kingdoms
and Nilfgaard breaks out.
With stakes at an all-time high, Yennefer attempts to enroll Ciri at the Aretuza school
of magic, which audiences will recognize as the school where Yennefer herself became a
mage under the tutelage of Tissaia.
This inevitably goes awry, leading to a catastrophic chain of events for Yennefer, Tissaia, and
Triss.
Meanwhile, Geralt's efforts to keep Ciri safe also crumble, and he is forced into battle
against Vilgefortz {VIL-gih-fortz}.
It's not likely the series will follow this book to the letter, but it's packed with material
that should make for a truly great season.
First seen in Season 2, the Wild Hunt will seemingly play a much bigger role in the third
season of "The Witcher."
This ominous group of specters serves as a warning that war is brewing.
"They kind of feel like folklore when they're first mentioned in the books.
And we wanted that same feeling."
Fans that skipped "The Witcher: Blood Origin" might want to take the time to watch the prequel
series before the beginning of Season 3, because there are some key details that will come
in handy as we learn more about the group.
In "Blood Origin," the captain of Xin'trea's army, Eredin Bréacc Glas, is put in the unenviable
position of mediator between several Elven despots during a serious power shift.
He chooses unwisely to say the least, and ends up serving a cruel empire after the Conjunction
of the Spheres.
In the books and video games, he ends up leading the Red Riders, a group of slave hunters tasked
with capturing people to serve King Auberon Muircetach.
With their insidious purpose, their intimidating armor, and their spectral appearance, the
Wild Hunt strikes terror.
It's very possible that the Wild Hunt is after Ciri and her Elder Blood.
After Season 2, it's hard to say where Ciri will be on an emotional level, but chances
are she's been training with Geralt and Yennefer in hopes of preventing further exploitation
of her power.
But as much as Yennefer might develop a bond with Ciri, the two are very different people
at heart, and it's likely there will be problems.
In the books, The Wild Hunt becomes aware of Ciri very much by accident, but it marks
a major turning point not just for her, but for Eredin.
It's unlikely the show will be able to fully cover the complicated interactions between
them in one season, but chances are we're going to see some serious action when these
forces collide.
Over the first two seasons of the series, the fearless Geralt has become increasingly
more troubled as his responsibilities to Ciri have caught up to him.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich explained
that he'll be even more vulnerable in Season 3, saying,
"Geralt's big turn is about giving up neutrality and doing anything that he has to do to get
to Ciri."
"Now, for the first time, I understand real fear."
According to Hissrich, Geralt will have a whole new mission by the start of the fourth
season, when he'll be played by Liam Hemsworth.
From all we know so far, it seems pretty likely that he and Ciri will be separated over the
events of the third season, making his fear seem tragically warranted.
Though he avoided taking Ciri on as a pupil throughout much of the first season, fate
brought them together, and it changed him.
How he's going to deal with the threat of losing her is something we'll have to find
out.
Yennefer is one of the most morally complicated characters in the show.
Her not-so-subtle hedonism and tendency to be her own worst enemy directly challenge
Geralt's moody philosophical wonderings.
In Season 2, she was left powerless after her great feat at the Battle of Sodden Hill,
which opened the door to temptation as she sought to restore her former abilities as
a mage, whatever the cost.
This quest obscured her sense of decency and led her down a decidedly dark path as she
made a deal to deliver Ciri to the Deathless Mother.
Though she ultimately saw the error of her ways and made a truly heroic sacrifice that
saved Ciri, Geralt's trust in her is understandably damaged.
It's unlikely that he'll stay mad at her forever, but it's not the sort of thing one can easily
forget.
In the trailer, we see her sporting the familiar mask she wore during the first season episode
"Bottled Appetites."
It's an accessory with a lot of meaning, to say the least.
One huge reveal in the second season of "The Witcher" was that Ciri's father — long believed
to be dead — is actually alive and well.
Although we first meet Ciri during the fall of her family's kingdom, gradual clues have
dropped to indicate that nothing is quite as it seems.
Geralt first met Ciri's grandmother, Queen Calanthe, in the first season, during the
betrothal party of her daughter, Pavetta.
Pavetta is overjoyed when her true love, Duny — who is not her betrothed but is in a porcupine-like
humanoid form — breaks up the celebration.
Queen Calanthe is extremely not cool about this, but ultimately Geralt saves Duny's life.
The emergence of Pavetta's powers makes it clear that this is one couple that's going
to stay together.
After Geralt jokes about his payment…
"I claim the tradition as you have.
The law of surprise.
Give me that which you already have, but do not know."
Pavetta's pregnancy with Ciri is revealed, and Geralt and Ciri's fates are forever intertwined.
Duny and Pavetta were believed to have perished, but we recently saw that he actually survived
and became the Emperor of Nilfgaard.
We're on the edge of our seats wondering how he transformed from friend into domineering
king.
The TV adaptation of "The Witcher" kicked off with a tense fight scene, and the hits
have kept coming from then on out.
While we see Geralt preparing to fight more than we see him actually duking it out in
the trailer, there are a few indicators that Season 3's brawls are going to be quite the
spectacle.
Already in full Witcher form in the opening sequence and brandishing his blade with fearsome
intent, Geralt looks ready for the fight of his life.
Fans of the "Witcher" video games might have noticed that the trailer shows a new green
runestone fixed to Geralt's blade, indicating that there might be a gear upgrade on the
horizon.
There's also the question of who exactly would have required him to seek out such a power
boost.
The options are plentiful, running the gamut through just about every major villain who
has appeared in the series to date, as well as some friends.
Will he be squaring off against Duny?
Vilgefortz?
Yennefer?
The other Witchers?
Even without knowing for sure who the target of his ire happens to be, this promises to
be a fight for the ages.
Lauren Schmidt Hissrich has noted that neither she nor the writers were aware that the season
would be broken up into two chunks a month apart, but it ended up working out pretty
well for the flow of the season.
Hissrich explained on Netflix's blog, TUDUM,
"For any fans who are familiar with the 'Time of Contempt' novel, there's an epic event
that explodes the Continent as we know it — the lead up to which provided a perfect
cliffhanger for us."
Hissirch also reiterated that the events of the season will weigh heavily on Geralt.
While he was able to assert neutrality and deny his emotions before, things have changed
drastically for him.
She said,
"He can't pretend that he doesn't feel.
He can't pretend that he's impenetrable."