Netflix’s The Witcher has been steadily assembling a dedicated fanbase since its premiere in December. The series quickly became one of the most popular on the platform, we may be getting an animated spinoff and showrunner Lauren Hissrich has already said that they have plans for a story that spans seven seasons.
But with season 2 now in pre-production, what can we expect from it? Well, according to sources close to WGTC – the same ones who told us Bill Murray would return in Ghostbusters: Afterlife and that a new Scream movie is in the works, both of which have been confirmed – the next run will be a rough adaptation of Andrzej Sapkowski’s first full novel in the Witcher saga: Blood of Elves (which followed two short story collections).
Taking inspiration from Blood of Elves makes a lot of sense, too. As with the first season, it’s unlikely that the next one will be a direct adaptation of the books, but the way the rookie outing ended seems to naturally lead into the events of the aforementioned novel. For those who haven’t read it, the thrust of the story sees Geralt protecting and training Ciri, taking her to the ruined Witcher’s headquarters of Kaer Morhen where she spends time with sorceress Triss, Vesemir and a number of other Witchers from the School of the Wolf. Later in the book, Ciri’s also trained in magic by Yennefer.
Given that the Witcher saga is ultimately the story of Ciri rather than Geralt and that much of season 1 was establishing the history of these characters over multiple timelines and then slowly bringing them together, this all rings true. But having said all that, with Sapkowski’s books having seen a surge in popularity following the Netflix show, they may be conscious that they need some surprises and have to deviate from the novel in a number of key ways.
However it plays out, I’ll definitely be watching. I had high expectations for season 1 of The Witcher and, after a slightly slow start, the show ended up exceeding them. So, count me as on board for the next six seasons.
