By Netflix has begun filming the second season of The Witcher this February and announced several new cast members that would be joining Henry Cavill (Geralt), Freya Allan (Ciri), Anya Chalotra (Yennefer) and Joey Batey (Jaskier).
The reveal proved that season two will be adapting the fan favorite chapters from the book Blood of Elves, where Ciri undergoes witcher training in Kaer Morhen. This will serve as a homecoming for Cavill’s Geralt, who will reunite with old friends Lambert, Eskel and Coën as well as his father-figure Vesemir. From what we’ve heard, the witchers are set to appear in three or four episodes of season two, and filming for their scenes has already begun judging by Thue Rasmussen‘s Instagram story which shows the door of his trailer.
Thue Ersted Rasmussen, was cast as Eskel. A good friend of Geralt and Lambert and a notable character in the Witcher video games, Eskel was actually missing from the original character sheet, so we do not have his official description. In January, Ramussen visited prosthetic artist Barry Gower, famous for his work on Game of Thrones (the wights and white walkers). There, Gower made a full-body cast of Ramussen. From our research, it appears that Gower has joined The Witcher‘s crew for season two, indicating that Eskel might be involved in some interesting scenes. Some fans believe that this was done in order to create Eskel’s scars, although Henry Cavill did not have to do this procedure before becoming Geralt. A full-body cast just for scars seems excessive and there might be something we’re not seeing yet.
Paul Bullion, who was recently cast as Lambert, has been sharing various videos of his sword training. The one linked below appears to have been staged within The Witcher‘s production headquarters at Arborfield Studios. Lambert was described in the casting sheet as “a tall, sharp-tongued warrior. Inclined to give in to pleasures like food, sex and booze but trustworthy.”
Yasen Atour is set to become the witcher Coën. In the books, it is said that Coen does not belong to the School of the Wolf, and is as such somewhat of an outsider among the witchers. Even so, he establishes a strong connection with Ciri after assisting Geralt and Vesemir in her training. It appears his role will be similar in the show, as the call sheet describes him as follows: “A warrior type. Deadly with a sword. Charged with training a young apprentice. Easy-going and fun.”
Lastly, Vesemir himself, Killing Eve‘s Kim Bodnia, has taken to twitter to share his excitement for the role. Alongside the announcement of Bodnia’s casting, Netflix shared a thorough description of Vesemir: “A charming relic of the witcher Golden Age. He is the oldest and most experienced witcher in the series, as well as a father figure to Geralt (Cavill). As one of the survivors of the Massacre at Kaer Morhen, a haunting slaughter that nearly exterminated the witchers, he is fiercely protective of the remaining few, who he sees as an endangered community who can find glory on ‘the Path’ slaying monsters.”
With filming having started, we hope to uncover more details regarding this storyline very soon. It’s only a matter of time until The Witcher begins shooting Kaer Morhen scenes on location, and so we’re sure to find out which real-world castle will become the legendary ruins made famous by the books and games.
In other news, The Witcher has been filming scenes from the premiere episode’s adaptation of A Grain of Truth. Agnes Born, who was cast as Vereena shared an Instagram story from her road towards Reading, UK and Arborfield is just nearby. We’re certain Kristofer Hivju is there as well, but the bear-man has managed to stay discreet so far.
Stay tuned with Redanian Intelligence for all news, leaks and updates on The Witcher season two.
This story is great can’t wait for season 2 of the Witcher
Geralt not having his scars make sense because they are received some time after his death at Rivia. Though non Canon Ciri mentions the scars being new in W3.
Great job keeping us all up to date! Really excited for S2. Reading the books for the first time and about to get into Blood of Elves. Pretty impressed with the adaptation so far!