Netflix and CDPR’s inaugural WitcherCon was packed with The Witcher goodies, including a two-minute season two teaser trailer. WitcherCon’s interactive panels featured the series’ stars Henry Cavill (“Geralt of Rivia”), Anya Chalotra (“Yennefer”), Freya Allan (“Ciri”), and Paul Bullion (“Lambert”) discussing what’s in store for the new season. Showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich also participated and dropped some hints on season two storylines.
“There are so many characters that we’re introducing in Season 2,” explained Schmidt Hissrich. “We are getting to see Dijkstra for the first time and sort of the Redanian Kingdoms. I know a lot of fans are excited to meet Philippa for the first time, Codringher and Fenn, Rience, Nenneke. There’s so many, but I would have to say Vesemir is the one I’m looking most forward to our audience meeting. Vesemir is so integral to the story that we’re telling this season.”
Schmidt Hissrich added, “Obviously, we’re returning to Kaer Morhen for the first time, and in a season that is about Geralt becoming a father to Ciri, it felt so important to meet who his father figure was. And you end up with this multigenerational story because Vesemir and Ciri have a story as well, and it does start to feel like, ‘Oh, all of these people are meant to be interacting and learning from each other and fighting with each other.'”
During the three-hour first-ever WitcherCon, series star Henry Cavill provided his take on Geralt of Rivia’s journey.
“I played the Season One way deliberately, which was him out in the wilds and without the opportunity for vast swathes of dialogue. I thought it best to be the man who says less because that seems like he’s thinking more. And that was the intention with that. But once you get into a scenario with Cirilla, and the Witchers and his home space and with those people who he already knows, I was of the opinion that you had to let him be verbose and be philosophical and speak more and be intellectual, because that’s what he is. He’s not just a big old white-haired brute.”
According to Schmidt Hissrich, the new season will continue to explore the relationship between Geralt and Ciri.
“At the end of Season 1, we have what I think is one of the sort of most emotional scenes that we’ve done, which is Geralt and Ciri finding each other after they’ve both been searching all season… And it seems like we’ve got a father figure and daughter figure, and everything’s going to be perfect at that point, except for they’ve never met. And so it was really fun to start Season 2 thinking about, well, they’re not a family yet. How do they grow to be one? What do you do if you are a person like Geralt, who has sworn he doesn’t need anyone in the world whatsoever? And then he’s presented with a girl who is now solely in his care,” offered Schmidt Hissrich. “And we have Ciri, who’s used to being under the care of people but has basically been running from everyone for an entire season and now being told that this person is going to take care of you. And so it was really fun to start Season 2 kind of them a little uncertain about how to be with each other, and they have to really grow into that. We wanted to make sure that felt like an authentic relationship, that they weren’t just bonded at the very beginning.”
Netflix’s WitcherCon event featured the release of The Witcher season two poster, new photos, and the announcement of the confirmed premiere date. Season two is set to premiere on December 17, 2021, two years after the release of season one.
The reveal of season two’s episode titles also dropped during WitcherCon. A one-minute video included episode logos and the titles “A Grain of Truth,” “Kaer Morhen,” “What is Lost,” “Redanian Intelligence,” “Turn Your Back,” “Dear Friend,” and “Voleth Meir.”
