By Witcher fans are still reeling from the exciting cascade of news that came with Netflix and CD Projekt RED’s WitcherCon event, and among the teaser trailer for season two, the teaser for the anime film, and behind-the-scenes featurettes, a lot of interesting details flew under the radar.
As we did with Henry Cavill’s lengthy WitcherCon interview, we’ve decided to recap the Yennefer and Ciri news gleaned from their interviews in the Deck of Destiny panel and the Converging Destinies featurettes. First and foremost, Chalotra has teased the upcoming mother-daughter dynamic between Yennefer and Ciri.
Anya Chalotra on acting alongside Freya Allan
“We’ve never worked together,” Anya Chalotra explained during the Deck of Destiny panel. “We’ve been so close but we’ve never acted together. It was bizarre because we knew each other so well because we went through the whole season together, living so close to each other. The most exciting thing for me was getting to know what it’s like to work with Freya and see what that dynamic was. And then, that informs our relationship.“
The interviewer Julia Hardy then asked: “Was it alright?” To which Chalotra replied humorously, “I’ll tell you later.” She then clarified: “It was amazing. [Freya’s] amazing and her character goes on such a journey. From what I saw in season one, to get to work with her at a point in this season that is completely different… It was a joy.“
Presumably, Chalotra is referring to Allan’s transformation from princess-on-the-run to witcheress-in-training, which will be a major plot point in the upcoming season. Here’s what Allan had to say on that matter.
Freya Allan on Ciri’s witcher training
“[Training] was one of the things I was most excited about for season two, because I love doing all that. I love the stunt department. We have the best people involved, and they’re so much fun and get the best out of you. But yes, Ciri begins training and it actually becomes one of her main kind of drives. She’s very determined, and she really wants to become a great fighter and become a Witcher. And it’s hard because she’s got certain brotherly figures around her and they were a little bit annoying,” Freya jokes. “Geralt’s not quite letting her reach the potential she wants to, which is very frustrating for her.”
Allan had also discussed filming a particular training scene with castmate Paul Bullion, who plays the witcher Lambert. “We actually have a funny story, me and Paul. We do this one scene where Lambert comes in and he’s meant to slice this dummy and, each time, he was just missing. I tried to hold it together in the scene but I just couldn’t help but burst into laughter.”
“And then it comes to a scene where I had to chop the head off of one [dummy], and the [Assistant Director] goes: you better beat Paul. And literally in the first take, the head goes flying, and I said: Yes! I can’t wait to tell Paul.“
You can check out the full Deck of Destiny panel (including more from Chalotra and Allan, as well as Bullion, Mimi M. Khayisa who plays Fringilla, and showrunner Lauren Hissrich) in this YouTube video.
The ‘Converging Destinies’ featurette teases the futures of Yennefer and Ciri
Freya Allan on Ciri: “[For most of the first season,] I’m literally just running through the woods, constantly. Always just running away from everyone. I feel like, this season, you really see her grow.”
Anya Chalotra on filming season two: “This season, everyone worked their asses off to make this happen. That’s what we do. We do it for the fans, and the fact that gaming fans loved it as well as the new fans that were coming on board was just brilliant.“
A brief Yennefer teaser was revealed
Though it’s very short and includes many scenes from season one, the Yennefer teaser includes a number of interesting shots, including our first look at Mecia Simson’s elven queen Francesca Findabair. We already covered some of these shots in our frame-by-frame analysis post of the first season two trailer, but here are a few frames we’ve missed.
RELATED ARTICLE: Frame by frame analysis of The Witcher Season 2 first teaser trailer
WitcherCon was a blast, and we can’t wait to hear more about season two. While the wait is long for its December 17 release, we’ll be dropping by the Continent for a completely different story much earlier. In August 23, Netflix is releasing the anime prequel film titled The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf, which will tell the story of a young Vesemir. For a recap of everything we’ve learned about the anime film at WitcherCon, check out our report from the weekend.
RELATED ARTICLE: ‘The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf’ Anime Film: August Release Date & What We Know So Far
Is it just me or does Freya Allen look quite different? Compared to season 1? I saw that interview and thought, hmm, well, interesting idea to sport such enhanced eyebrows and bolder lips but then I thought that was just for the interview. But no, it is the same when she plays Ciri! Quite a departure from the first season, not exactly continuity in terms of looks I would say. Consistent looks are usually an important factor in a series. Has any explanation been given why her appearance was changed?
I don’t really know why that was done, but I’am sure it has to do with destiny.
Sir, I have one question? in the season 2 can we also see Jaskier in action? Please reply
I hope Freya Allen and the role of Ciri can grow a bit more. In the first season, she had quite some screen time, but her scenes were not always well scripted in my opinion, and deviated a lot from the books. There clearly is potential for better scenes involving Ciri in season 2 and I am looking forward to it.