Netflix’s adaptation of The Witcher has proven to be everything fans could have ever hoped for and more.
Having become one of the streaming service’s most successful originals almost overnight, showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich has been overwhelmed with praise for bringing Andrzej Sapkowski’s fantasy book series to life on the small screen, as too, has the show’s stellar cast. Henry Cavill and Anya Chalotra, in particular, have received endless acclaim for their portrayals of Geralt and Yennefer respectively and audiences are eager to see the adventure continue.
Season 2 has long been known to already be in the works, of course, and while readers of Sapkowski’s source material will already be aware of what lies in store for Geralt, certain events are bound to change in the translation from written word to live-action.
Particular focus has been placed on the latter’s decision to use time skips (not present in the books) in order to concurrently tell three major storylines, after all, so even storied Witcher fans should expect some surprises along the way. Understandably, Hissrich is keen to keep important plot details under wraps, but let a few teasers slip in a recent interview.
Revealing the lessons she learned from filming season 1 for its upcoming successor, Hissrich said:
That’s the important thing, every show has its own rhythm. Every show has its own internal ecosystem, of what works and what doesn’t work. We took a lot of lessons out of Season 1. For me, personally, I took a lot of creative lessons. This was my first time doing this job, as a showrunner, and it was daunting. This is a really big show to cut my teeth on. But what I brought into it was a certain amount of, ‘Okay, I’m here, let’s get this done.’ So, I personally feel like I’ve learned a lot and, creatively, I feel like I have a better understanding of what worked and what didn’t work, from the script.
While shooting for season 2 has yet to begin, Hissrich does reveal that much of the prep work (set-building, costume design, etc) has already been completed. “We also have a better idea of what’s working on set,” she says, adding “scheduling is a lot easier. We’re returning to similar locations, and we have some sets already built and costumes design.” As for which “similar locations” Geralt and co. will be revisiting, Hissrich doesn’t say, though, with Termerria and the other Northern Kingdoms playing a huge role in the books, it’s likely that Geralt will have yet another run-in with sorceress Triss Merigold.
Sadly, not until 2021 will Cavill return to TV screens as the white-haired wolf – plenty of time then to join the rest of the world in replaying CD Projekt’s terrific Witcher 3.