In The Witcher, Henry Cavill’s Geralt of Rivia is often seen riding his horse to journey all throughout the Continent, and evidently, their friendship extends beyond the screen.
On his Instagram, Cavill shared a photo of the black equine to celebrate their reunion. The horse’s real name is Hector, and he rode him through the mountains. Hector showed off some new rearing skills, so fans will have to see if any of his talents make it into the next season.
In The Witcher books, created by author Andrzej Sapkowski, horses play a significant role in the story, and because of his long lifespan, Geralt goes through many different horses throughout the time periods, and multiple horses were used in season 1 including a male named Zeus whose genitals were digitally removed to keep it in line with continuity.
Geralt prefers mares and he refers to them as “Roach,” and Hector has the honor of playing the latest version. In season 2, Roach died in episode 6, “Dear Friend,” after a battle with a vicious, winged monster, and he had to make the difficult choice to kill his companion to end her suffering.
Showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich called season 3 “huge,” and based on the climactic season 2 finale that saw hordes of monsters coming through a portal, that would seem inevitable. Ciri (Freya Allan) will have to discover whether or not she’s the prophesied world destroyer or the world’s savior, and Geralt and Yennefer (Anya Chalotra) have come together (albeit in a strained relationship) to guide her through the next challenge.
For season 3, the series will adapt the second book in Sapkowski’s fantasy series, The Time of Contempt, where the trio travel to the Brotherhood’s headquarters of Aretuza, but with the appearance of the Wild Hunt, specters in the sky who ride on undead horses, the heroes won’t have an easy adventure.
The Witcher season 3 is expected to come to Netflix in 2023.
