By The Witcher Season 3 is likely to begin filming very soon, and that means that casting for roles big and small is well underway. Not long ago, The Illuminerdi revealed a list of new characters that will be introduced in season three and we were then able to confirm that Maria Barring, known as Milva, will be among them. More recently, we learned that Safiyya Angar has been cast in an unknown role. Today’s news will focus on two auditions we have uncovered which seem to reveal details about Season 3.
First is an audition by actor Howard Corlett scene that will surely be familiar to anyone who’s read Time of Contempt. This scene features a character we’ve already learned will be introduced in season three, the royal messenger Aplegatt. The scene is actually an audition for the innkeeper who is very likely speaking to Aplegatt.
One thing to note is that earlier Aplegatt’s casting codename was listed as “Angel”, but now the innkeeper is talking to “Adam”. It’s possible that one codename was in casting sides and another for the casting of Aplegatt himself, hence possibly two codenames for one character.
Someone off-screen: “To the brave boys of Tottenham [codename for Temeria], kick those skewing asses back to that icey shithole of a state.
Inkeeper: “Traveled far, friend?”
Aplegatt: “Aye, and further to go still.”
Inkeeper: “Royal messenger? I suppose you’ll be taking my best horse, then?”
Aplegatt: “I’ll leave it in the next post, under the name of Adam [Aplegatt’s casting codename?]. Give us a draft of your best ale, I’ll add it to the king’s bill. Seems festive in these parts.”
Inkeeper: “A beheading is good for business. It’s our fourth execution in as many days.”
Aplegatt: “That blood is just to drop, the flood is still to come… Newark [codename for Nilfgaard] is amassing weapons, fortune and fighters while the northern kings waste time squabbling like children.”
Inkeeper: “Look at that body. Ten orens she’s a mage.”
Aplegatt: “Aye, she’s beautiful enough.”
Inkeeper: “Her kind should be keeping the royal peace, not swanning idly over the countryside. But she can idle around me tonight…”
Aplegatt:“That beauty? I hear they keep it bathed in human blood every night. Anyway, I’ll be seeing you.”
It’s interesting to note that for roles as small as the Inkeeper above, and the prisoner in the second audition, the show has sometimes used auditions taken from the most recent drafts of the scripts rather than writing entirely new pieces. One such case is season one’s Nohorn, whose audition script includes multiple direct quotes from the premiere episode. This means that some details about the plot of season three may actually be gleaned from these two auditions.
The above audition suggests that there will be many beheadings in the north (a safe guess would be that elves are the victims here), and that Aplegatt will come across a certain sorceress during his travels. In the books, that was none other than Yennefer of Vengerberg who was accompanied by Ciri, so it will come as no surprise if their paths cross in the show as well.
Our second audition by Naomi Robson does not remind us of anything in Andrzej Sapkowski’s Witcher Saga. This one features an original character who is a very drunk prisoner.
Character: “Why? Why are you here?”
Prisoner: “Would you believe me if I told you it was for stealing wine?”
Character: [laughs] “I used to be able to outdrink the Emperor himself. And now…”
Prisoner: “If I ever see another glass of wine again it’ll be too soon.”
Character: “If I could do it all over again, I’d play the game better. Smarter. Never let anyone take my freedom away from me. Hey, we’re talking! Wake up!”
The line about the Emperor gives us a pretty clear idea who the prisoner is speaking to. Given her predicament at the end of Season 2, it’s quite likely that this is the sorceress Fringilla Vigo. Another strong possibility is that this is Cahir, who was also imprisoned by the Emperor at the end of season two.
Besides these two, we’ve already uncovered two other official auditions in the past few months, and you can read their transcripts in the links below.
- The Witcher Season 3 audition tape suggests more political intrigue involving Jaskier
- The Witcher is casting another familiar villain for Season 3
Lastly, we’ve come across a third audition clip that may not actually be official and may actually be fan-made. The clip uploaded by actress Gabriella Whiteman is titled “Marylebone/Milva casting self-tape”, so if it is actually official, that would confirm our suspicion that the character codenamed Marylebone is indeed Milva.
That being said, the actual content of this audition clip is what makes us question whether it’s official or fan-made. The script is taken almost word-for-word from the third novel in the Witcher Saga Baptism of Fire, without the customary codenames replacing the names of characters and locations as seen in the previous two auditions (and almost every audition we’ve uncovered for the show so far).
UPDATE: Whiteman confirmed that the tape was made on her own initiative.
“You are about to go to Nilfgaard,” Milva repeated, nodding her head in pity. “To make war with an Emperor, and to take away his bride. Have you not thought about what might happen? When you get there, when you find this Ciri in her room at the palace, in all her gold and silks, what are you going to say? Come, love, to me, why would you stay here at the Imperial throne, when the two of us can live together in a hut and eat bark till the harvest. Look around you, you ragged cripple! Even the cloak and boots you got from the Dryads belonged to some elf before that, who died of his wounds in Brokilon. You know what will happen when you find your lady? She will spit in your face and laugh, she will order the palace to throw you out and give you as food to the dogs!”
Milva, Baptism of Fire
So, what do you think? Is this audition official or fan-made? And what did you think of the other two auditions? If you’re eager to discuss these topics and everything else related to The Witcher, come join us in our new Redanian Intelligence Discord server.
