Henry Cavill is set to return as Geralt of Rivia in Season 2 of Netflix’s The Witcher, and this time around one of his top priorities will be bringing Ciri with him to Kaer Morhen – his home and the place where he became the witcher he is today. This eight-episode season looks to expand the scope of the first season and bring to life more of the stories and characters created by author Andrzej Sapkowski.
Join us as we share everything you need to know for the arrival of The Witcher Season 2, including the release date, new and returning cast members, all the trailers released so far, details of its production, the most important characters and locations, and much more.
The Witcher Season 2 Release Date
If you are one of the many around the world wondering when does The Witcher Season 2 come out, you will be happy to know that all eight episodes will be available to all Netflix subscribers on December 17, 2021.
How Can I Watch Netflix’s The Witcher?
Season 2 of The Witcher will only be available on Netflix.
How Many Episodes Are in Season 2 of The Witcher?
Season 2 of Netflix’s The Witcher will have eight episodes. Netflix has revealed seven of the eight episode titles, but the final one remains “top secret.” The names of each episode follow:
- Episode 1: “A Grain of Truth”
- Episode 2: “Kaer Morhen”
- Episode 3: “What Is Lost”
- Episode 4: “Redanian Intelligence”
- Episode 5: “Turn Your Back”
- Episode 6: “Dear Friend”
- Episode 7: “Voleth Meir”
- Episode 8: [Top Secret]
Is Season 2 of The Witcher Good?
Netflix has made the first six episodes of Season 2 of The Witcher available to press, and we've had a chance to watch all of them ahead of the show's official return on December 17.
In our review, we said, "The Witcher’s scope continues to widen in the second season, carrying on several threads from the first season finale while introducing new conflicts and characters. It’s more straightforward this time around, at least in its first six episodes, but it still suffers from some of the first season’s inconsistent pacing and characterization, particularly when it comes to newer stories.
"Henry Cavill’s portrayal of Geralt of Rivia continues to be the single best element of this adaptation, and it’s proven again in Geralt’s budding relationship with Ciri, which forms the emotional core of the season. It’s still inconsistent at the best of times, but The Witcher remains a light and entertaining adventure through a unique fantasy world."
The Witcher Cast, Actors, and Crew
Returning Cast Members
Henry Cavill will once again become Geralt of Rivia for the second season of The Witcher. He will be returning with many of his fellow cast members from Season 1, including Anya Chalotra’s Yennefer, Freya Allan’s Ciri, and Joey Batey’s Jaskier.
Returning Cast List:
- Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia
- Anya Chalotra as Yennefer
- Freya Allan as Ciri
- Joey Batey as Jaskier
- MyAnna Burning as Tissaia
- Tom Canton as Filavandrel
- Lilly Cooper as Murta
- Jeremy Crawford as Yarpen Zigrin
- Eamon Farren as Cahir
- Mahesh Jadu as Vilgefortz
- Terrence Maynard as Artorius
- Lars Mikkelsen as Stregobor
- Mimî M Khayisa as Fringilla
- Royce Pierreson as Istredd
- Wilson Mbomio as Dara
- Anna Shaffer as Triss
- Therica Wilson-Read as Sabrina
Those who love Cavill’s take on Geralt will be happy to know that he is “absolutely” committed to The Witcher’s seven-season plan that showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich has in place.
New Cast Members
Netflix has revealed many new cast members that will be joining the cast of The Witcher in the second season, and many of them will be recognizable to those familiar with Andrzej Sapkowski’s novels that the series is adapted from. This includes Game of Thrones star Kristofer Hivju (Tormund Giantsbane) as Nivellen from Sapkowski’s short story “A Grain of Truth.”
Vesemir, one of the most important characters in the books as he is a father figure to Geralt, will also be featured in this new season and will be played by Killing Eve’s Kim Bodnia. Fans of The Witcher games will be familiar with Vesemir and other newcomers in Paul Bullion’s Lambert and Yasen Atour’s Coën.
New Cast List:
- Kristofer Hivju as Nivellen
- Kim Bodnia as Vesemir
- Paul Bullion as Lambert
- Yasen Atour as Coën
- Adjoa Andoh as Nenneke
- Cassie Clare as Philippa Eilhart
- Liz Carr as Fenn
- Graham McTavish as Dijkstra
- Kevin Doyle as Ba’Lian
- Simon Callow as Codringher
- Chris Fulton as Rience
- Agnes Born as Vereena
- Basil Eidenbenz as Eskel
- Aisha Fabienne Ross as Lydia
- Mecia Simson as Francesca
Lauren Schmidt Hissrich will continue to serve as showrunner, and The Umbrella Academy’s Stephen Surjik, The Last Kingdom’s Sarah O’Gorman, Doctor Who’s Ed Bazalgette, and The Great’s Geeta V. Patel will all be directing two episodes each.
What is the Plot of The Witcher Season 2?
Considering The Witcher’s first season ended with Geralt finally being united with Ciri, this new story will see their relationship evolve as he takes her back to his childhood home of Kaer Morhen. We also know that the premiere episode will adapt Sapkowski’s short story “A Grain of Truth,” which will see Geralt running into Kristofer Hivju’s Nivellen.
The newest trailer for Season 2 also referenced “the north and south at war,” which is a nod to the march of the Nilfgaardian Empire, and shows a few of the many locations our characters will find themselves in this season.
Netflix’s official synopsis for this second season of The Witcher also teases a bit more of what fans can expect when the series returns. The description reads:
“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.”
What is Kaer Morhen?
Kaer Morhen is one of the most important locations in the world of The Witcher as it was, among many other things, the home of Geralt of Rivia and the School of the Wolf. It looks to feature prominently in Season 2 of Netflix’s The Witcher, as Geralt will be taking Ciri there to keep her safe from those outside… and her power from within.
The name Kaer Morhen comes from Caer a'Muirehen - Elder Speech for Keep of the Elder Sea. It is a stronghold where witchers of the School of the Wolf would be trained. It is quite inaccessible except for a path known as The Witchers Trail and was a safe haven for those who called it home until it was attacked by those who saw witchers as monsters.
Despite it being not what it once was after the attack, witchers would still return to Kaer Morhen for refuge, and we’ll be learning much more about it in these new episodes.
Who is Vesemir?
Killing Eve’s Kim Bodnia is set to play Vesemir in Season 2 of The Witcher and is one character fans have been waiting to see in live-action form. He is one of the oldest and most experienced witchers remaining in the world and serves as a father figure to Geralt.
Following the attack on Kaer Morhen, Vesemir took it upon himself to continue to make it a safe place for the remaining few witchers to come to and train.
While fans will have to wait a bit longer to see Bodnia’s Vesemir in Season 2, the character was the star of the animated film The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf. This story fleshed out Vesemir’s backstory and showed fans many of the events that helped shape him into who he is today.
In our The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf review, we said that it “isn’t a bad film, but it fundamentally lacks an identity of its own. It’s a fine way to spend 80 minutes if you want to pick up some fresh lore and get to meet a very different Vesemir than the one we’re likely to see in Season 2, but it probably won’t get anyone new to the franchise to stick around, or even convince anyone who was lukewarm on the live-action series to get more invested in the world.”
What Are the New Monsters in Season 2 of The Witcher?
While many of the new fearsome monsters Geralt and his friends will face in Season 2 of Netflix’s The Witcher remain a secret, we have been given a tease of two - the Leshy and the Bruxa - that will pose a threat to our heroes’ mission.
The Leshy are forest monsters that are highly intelligent and are resistant to iron. While certain peasants believe that the Leshy are protectors of the forest, they are in reality dangerous creatures who hunt and surprise those walking through its home.
The Bruxa, on the other hand, is a type of vampire that can take the form of both a dark-haired human and a large bat. They are fast and can appear as attractive women to unsuspecting men who will be led to their demise.
While not a traditional monster, per se, Hivju’s Nivellen is a cursed man who appears as a monster on the outside but remains his human self on the inside. We also got a glimpse in the trailers of a woman of fire who is conjured up by Lars Mikkelsen’s Stregobor, but it’s yet unclear what this truly is.
Will Season 2 of The Witcher Feature Multiple Timelines?
While the stories of Geralt, Yennefer and Ciri all took place in different periods of time in the first season of The Witcher, this new season will see all characters on the “same timeline.”
The story will still feature flashbacks and flash-forwards, but the main story will be much more streamlined.
Will There Be a Season 3 of The Witcher?
During 2021’s TUDUM: A Netflix Global Fan Event, it was confirmed that The Witcher will return for a third season.
What Other The Witcher Projects Are in the Works at Netflix?
Alongside Season 3 of The Witcher, Netflix announced at TUDUM that its “growing Witcher universe” will expand with a second anime feature film and a kids/family series set in its world.
These two new projects will join the upcoming Witcher prequel series, The Witcher: Blood Origin, that takes place 1,200 years before Geralt of Rivia and sees the rise of the first Witcher.
The Witcher Season 2 Trailers
What you've all been waiting for, Witcher family. Here's the first teaser trailer for Season 2, premiering December 17 on @netflix. #WitcherCon pic.twitter.com/TT4yYttA5F
— The Witcher (@witchernetflix) July 9, 2021
Are you ready for this? The Witcher Season 2 premieres December 17 on Netflix. pic.twitter.com/4fSCkQCY2C
— Netflix Geeked (@NetflixGeeked) October 29, 2021
Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.
