By Filming for the third season of The Witcher finally started last week at Laghi di Fusine, Italy. Us and our readers knew about Henry Cavill and Freya Allan being there, and now Netflix has confirmed that Anya Chalotra was filming as well.
As Netflix put it, the family of Geralt, Ciri and Yennefer is back together again!
How will the filming take? According to our sources, filming is currently expected to wrap in September 2022, if nothing goes wrong. After that, we can expect 6-8 months of post-production and the new season may land itself on to the Netflix platform around Spring 2023.
Plot details of The Witcher Season 3
But that’s not all: Netflix has also shared the synopsis for the upcoming season, which definitely is inspired by Andrzej Sapkowski’s Time of Contempt:
That’s definitely an interesting glimpse into what’s to come! Yennefer leading Geralt and Ciri to Aretuza is a twist on some later events of Time of Contempt, but official plot summaries hardly ever show things the way they are so we probably shouldn’t expect Geralt to spend the entire season in Aretuza. One thing is for certain, there will be much more Aretuza, judging by the synopsis.
As far as the story goes, we know two other things: Season 3 of The Witcher starts off with Geralt, Ciri and Yennefer attending the Belleteyn festival and ends with the iconic Thanedd coup. What happens between those two points and how it happens is anyone’s guess now.
READ MORE: The Witcher to feature a fan-favorite event in Season 3
Directors of The Witcher Season 3
Netflix also revealed the full lineup of directors of Season 3. First two, Stephen Surjik and Loni Peristere, we already knew several weeks back. The other two directors are Gandja Monteiro and Bola Ogun. So the full lineup looks like this:
- Stephen Surjik (The Witcher S2, Daredevil)
- Loni Peristere (Warrior, Banshee)
- Gandja Monteiro (Brand New Cherry Flavor, The Chi)
- Bola Ogun (Raising Dion, Lucifer)
It’s yet unknown who gets which episodes, but as per Bola Ogun’s website, she’ll direct the two final episodes of Season 3:
“Bola Ogun is a first generation Nigerian-American Director, who recently finished the second season premiere block of Netflix’s Shadow & Bone from Arrival screenwriter Eric Heisserer and will be gearing up for the season three finale block of Witcher.“
As far as the cast of Season 3 goes, here’s who we know so far:
The Witcher is currently filming in Slovenia and is planning to move to Croatia afterwards. Are you from Croatia and want to help us with news from Krk Island? Join our Discord server!
Perhaps the synopsis means that at some point, mid-season I suspect, Yen will lead them to Aretuza. I doubt they’ll go there early. I expect some adventures for the trio on the road. If the season ends with the coup then that’s good. I’d prefer to leave Ciri’s adventures in the desert and the rats for s4 and focus on the family bonding and the coup in s3. I hope they don’t overdo it with the political plays before the coup. The whole magic of the book was the ball.
👌👍 I love seeing the family together (even if they aren’t a family yet but hopefully soon). They’re the only reason I’ll watch s3 and who the books are about. Together or apart, their love is what drives the plot.
These are the news I love to read. And you were correct again RI. These three characters are all I care about. They fucked up s2 with the betrayal and spending more time in other stories and not in them but I hope in s3 they will become a true family. I can’t be fully excited thanks to Lauren but at least these are hopeful news and maybe Henry can save the situation.
Isn’t it dangerous for Yen to return to Aretuza? After she fried Cahir I mean. She is a wanted person now. Well, and Ciri too…
Just give us Geralt & Yennefer and Yennefer & Ciri and maybe I can forget the shitty writing of s2. Seriously, I hope after all the fan backlash they learned their lessons. Lauren needs to tone down her ego and realize that she adapts beloved books and she needs to be faithful to them, the characters and their interactions. It’s no wonder that the fan favorite episodes are “A grain of Truth” and Geralt VS the striga.
Is it actually confirmed that Thanedd is only happening at the actual end of the season and not episode 6 for example?
Wow, I didn’t expect the synopsis to be released so early. Nice and it seems the trio spends a lot time together. Let’s hope they’re not hype it up and the season will be another disaster. For the show to survive it needs the family to be a true family.
It looks good. I do not expect a faithful adaptation at this point, it’s too late for that but I expect the story to reflect the books and its themes and not to contradict them by making characters doings things that are against their character. I loved the relationship between Geralt and Ciri in s2, it was one of the better parts and I hope they will put the same effort and time to fix the relationship between Geralt & Yennefer and Yennefer and Ciri. The three actors look so good together and they have great chemistry.
I don’t know how to get through the time until release. After Season 2 I’m so excited to see what happens next🐺⚔️🐺⚔️
Read the books…that also helps to get past the fan fiction parts.
I read the books and also played the games. I thoroughly enjoyed both, but I also love the series precisely because it’s so refreshingly different. I separate books, games and series so that I can enjoy everything in my own way.
Thanks for the updates RI. I hope for a spring release. Also, I hope you are right that we’re getting the family at the beginning and Belleteyn and hopefully more moments as they travel together and then Geralt & Yen to attend the Ball. I’m expecting at some point Geralt to leave to search for Rience or for some other reason but then the trio to reunite and the season to end with the famous coup.
I wonder how they’ll deal with Yennefer’s betrayal. I want to see her fight for Geralt. In the books her love is apparent but in the show not yet (in contradiction to Geralt’s). I want to see little things that show her love. A conversation where they openly talk about the past and she admits her deepest fears – that no one will ever love her, for example. On any other small gesture. We need to see the longing and them being desperately in love but unable to admit it. They need to start coming closer together, and by the end to have an understanding and be on the same page and to show us that they are truly soulmates. Not just tell us, show it ffs. They managed to show Geralt and Ciri’s bonding in s2 and in s1 we witnessed Geralt’s and Yennefer’s mutual attraction and them falling for e/o, with scenes like the pillow talk in ep6 but then they ruined it, first with the wish but even worst with the lack of focus in s2.
How they managed to screw up s2 so much is really a puzzle. The material is there so the only explanation is that they didnt care. But the books and the characters are so beloved by many and if LHS and her team doesn’t feel that way she shouldn’t try to adapt them. I hope at least they learned from their mistakes and s3 is better.
🙏 It’s better than s2, 🙏 Henry has more power over the story, 🙏 the focus is the family, 🙏they give us the real Yennefer, the one who would never betray Geralt and Ciri and she’d die for him, 🙏 they’ll not write fan fiction this time and finally 🙏 that we’ ll see Geralt & Yennefer’s love.
P. S. 🙏 Lauren has less freedom to do what she wants.
🙏 It’s better than s2, 🙏 Henry has more power over the story, 🙏 the focus is the family, 🙏they give us the real Yennefer, the one who would never betray Geralt and Ciri and she’d die for him, 🙏 they’ll not write fan fiction this time and finally 🙏 that we’ ll see Geralt & Yennefer’s love.
P. S. 🙏 Lauren has less freedom to do what she wants.
If s3 is anything like s2 I wish Henry will quit. It’s better to cancel the show than to see it slowly dying. The viewers were less in s2 than in s1 and no fan I know was happy with s2.
Please fire Lauren. Any fan could do better. The books are masterpieces. They don’t need “improvement”.
No one I know liked s2. Lauren must have lost it when she wrote the season. The fans watch the show bc of Geralt, Geralt & Yennefer and Geralt & Ciri. When the showrunner butcher their screen time and bond for stories that make no sense like elven pregnancy drama, fringilla’s redemption (which was good but it’s not what the witcher is about), tissaia and vilgefortz, istredd’s monoliths, voleth meir etc what she expects?
I’m curious and terrified (thank you s2) to see how Yennefer will earn Geralt’s trust and forgiveness. With Ciri I believe it’s easier because they didn’t have a long history. I imagine Ciri disliking/not be font of Yennefer at first but then slowly and though training to grow closer together. But with Geralt it’s tricky. I’m one of those who were happy that Geralt didn’t forgive Yennefer in s2 because it would be unearned. And Yennefer needs to work for that. Also, the writers need to work hard to make it believable and not to just get over with that storyline. Since they CHOOSE to go with the betrayal arc they should own it and fix it. Moreover, I want to see how they’ll handle their love from now on, that will need work too. s3 has a lot to make up for and I truly hope the writing team is willing to dedicate the time and effort and give us the quiet character moments they chose to sacrifice in s2 for the sake of mindless action.