The Witcher – Picture: Netflix
In case you missed the news, The Witcher season 3 has officially entered production at the end of March. Stars Henry Cavill (Geralt), Anya Chalotra (Yennefer), Freya Allan (Ciri), and Zeus (Roach 2.0) were all seen on location filming the third season. The first few weeks of filming were quite busy, with the Netflix production filming across four countries. Thankfully, the location filming provided us quite a bit of news and even pictures from the set. Read on for a deep-dive of all the latest news from the Continent.
Topics:
- The Witcher casts key Season 3 roles including Shang Chi’s Meng’er Zhang as the fan-favorite Milva, Resident Evil’s Robbie Amell and more
- Filming is now officially underway for Season 3
- In Photos: Sorceresses convene for filming in Slovenia’s Prejdma castle
- In Photos: the mysterious desert set built on a Croatian beach for filming of Season 3
- Rumor: the next Witcher spinoff may feature Lambert, Coen and Eskel
- Spoiler Report: The Witcher Season 3 will feature a fan-favorite event that was skipped in the first season
The Witcher casts key Season 3 roles including Shang Chi’s Meng’er Zhang as the fan-favorite Milva, Resident Evil’s Robbie Amell and more
If you thought The Witcher season two had a massive cast of characters, you better prepare yourself for the third season as it’s set to introduce many more, including mages, warriors, messengers, and a flurry of original characters that did not appear in the books. With filming now underway, Netflix were kind enough to announce four key new castings.
The most notable casting of this list, both because of the renowned actress chosen for the role and because of the beloved character she portrays, is Meng’er Zhang who was cast as Milva. Alongside her casting, Netflix included a brief description of the character: A human adopted by the dryads of Brokilon Forest, Milva is a fierce and talented huntress. Exact archery skills coupled with a stone-cold aptitude for survival make her a formidable adversary in the unforgiving Continent – those that cross her, do so at their peril.
The second important character from the books included in Netflix’s reveal is Mistle, who will be portrayed by Christelle Elwin. Book readers will remember that Mistle’s role becomes significant later on in the story, but she was actually introduced towards the end of Time of Contempt, the novel that the third season is adapting. Netflix described the character as follows: Mistle is a member of The Rats, a gang of misfit teenagers who steal from the rich and give to themselves – and sometimes the poor. She is street hard, suspicious of everyone and out for revenge, until a chance meeting that will change everything.
The third role in this reveal has a familiar name, but he is in fact an original character. Hugh Skinner has been cast as Prince Radovid, the brother of King Vizimir of Redania. Book readers and players of the video games are familiar with a different Radovid who is the son of Vizimir, but it seems the show’s writers wanted to cast an adult heir to the Redanian throne rather than a child. Radovid’s official description is also quite different from the Radovid seen in the books: Royal playboy and younger brother to King Vizimir, Radovid finds himself suddenly a man on the inside of the Redanian Intelligence. With his good looks and drunken charm, Radovid amazes with how incisive he can be in political affairs, but it’s all games until someone gets hurt.
Last but not least, cast in the original role of elven rebel Gallatin is Resident Evil’s Robbie Amell. This character will be part of Francesca’s season 3 storyline, and it seems he will be challenging her leadership of the elves according to this official description: A born fighter, Gallatin leads an army of guerrilla Scoia’tael fighting on behalf of Nilfgaard. Unafraid to speak his truth, Gallatin’s loyalty to his people ultimately leads him on a collision course with Francesca over power.
Though this is all Netflix has revealed so far, Redanian Intelligence has you covered with three additional castings. Jim Sturgeon has been cast in the role of the royal messenger Aplegatt, who was described as follows in the show’s casting sheet: A royal messenger, played by someone who will need to know his way around a horse. This middle-aged gentleman was tired of his life and the horrors he’d witnessed on the job until he heard something that revolutionized his outlook from that moment on.
Besides Sturgeon, Redanian Intelligence has identified two additional cast members whose roles are currently unknown. The first is Safiyya Ingar, who has been spotted filming with a group of sorceresses in Slovenia (more on that later). Given the circumstances, it seems highly likely that Ingar will portray a sorceress such as Margarita Laux-Antille, Keira Metz, Sheala de Tancarville, or Marti Sodergren. Lastly, Sean Cernow has been cast in an unknown role, and we don’t have any clues about him just yet.
Filming is now officially underway for Season 3
Our family is back together again. #TheWitcher Season 3 is officially in production! pic.twitter.com/rlBl0j3lT1
— The Witcher (@witchernetflix) April 4, 2022
On March 31, Netflix officially kicked off production on the third season of The Witcher, with the cast and crew gathering in Slovenia for a two-week cross-Europe location shoot that would span three locations in three countries. Shortly after Redanian Intelligence broke the news, Netflix confirmed it with a photo of all three of the show’s leads preparing for filming on location in Italy’s wintery Laghi di Fusine. Unlike most of the show’s sets which utilize fake snow, the ice and snow in Laghi di Fusine was very real, creating difficult conditions for the season’s first shoot. When filming in the Italian lake was finished, the cast and crew traveled to Slovenia’s Predjama castle in the Nanos plateau and squared off the location trip on a Croatian beach on the island of Krk. Take a look at the next few sections of this article for more details and a few pictures from the other two locations.
In Photos: Sorceresses convene for filming in Slovenia’s Prejdma castle
It was in the beautiful hillside Predjama castle on the Nanos plateau that Witcher fans united to deliver quite a bit of news and details regarding the filming of two different scenes. One scene involved none other than Henry Cavill’s Geralt and his favorite mare Roach (the second Roach, that is). Cavill was seen filming with the castle in the background.
The second scene filmed at Prejdama castle was a bit more interesting as it involved multiple cast members, all of whom appear to be sorceresses. From what we have deduced, the following cast members were on location for this scene: Anya Chalotra (Yennefer), Cassie Clare (Philippa Eilhart), MyAnna Buring (Tissaia de Vries), Anna Schaffer (Triss Merrigold), Therica Wilson-Read (Sabrina Glevissig), and Safiyya Ingar (unknown role). Mecia Simson’s Francesca Findabair may also have been on location, as an actress that seems to look like her was spotted in the admittedly pixelated set photos. Other new cast members that are as of yet unidentified were seen on set, though they may have been extras as well.
What are all these sorceresses gathering for in a hillside castle? Well, only one thing comes to mind. This could be some sort of proto-Lodge of Sorceresses, a meeting of the Continent’s most powerful sorceresses before the actual Lodge is founded. If that is the case, it seems likely that the location will be the show’s version of Montecalvo castle, the home of Philippa Eilhart. Of course, it could also be something completely different, but it’s fun to speculate nonetheless.
For additional details and many more photos of the location during filming, read the full Redanian report.
In Photos: the mysterious desert set built on a Croatian beach for the filming of Season 3
The last location in The Witcher season 3’s kickoff European tour is Zala Stara Baska beach in the Croatian island of Krk. Though this is a beautiful beach, it seems rather likely that the location was used as a desert instead for the filming of season 3, given the structures the crew built on the sand. As you can see in the above photo, the architecture is quite different from the show’s typical Medieval castles and farmer’s huts, suggesting a unique desert locale that is yet to be explored in the show.
Fans have immediately jumped to the conclusion that this is the show’s take on the Korath desert, especially since Ciri actress Freya Allan was on the island for filming, however it is more likely that this is something different. The reason for that is that the director involved with the filming across Europe was Stephen Surjik, who seems to be helming the first two episodes of season 3, and that would be far too early for Ciri’s visit in the Korath desert. It will be interesting to see what this place will become when season 3 finally releases, and we’d love to hear your theories about it.
With filming wrapped in Croatia, the cast and crew returned to the Witcher headquarters of Longcross Studios in London, where the show’s studio scenes will be filmed. For additional photos and more details about the Croatian filming, read the full Redanian report.
Rumor: the next Witcher spinoff may feature Lambert, Coen and Eskel
It’s not often that we report rumors based on such slim evidence, but this one was too good to ignore. Netflix has already confirmed that there are multiple Witcher spinoffs in various stages of development.
One of them, The Witcher: Blood Origin, has already been filmed and is expected to release on Netflix later this year.
Another is the anime film The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf which you can already watch on Netflix. The latter was so well-received among the fans that Netflix decided to make another anime film, and Redanian Intelligence now confirmed that Studio Mir will once again be handling the animation. Additionally, another show is under development that is targeted at a younger audience and, of course, there are other projects in the works we don’t know about just yet.
The recent rumor may be the aforementioned anime or an unrelated live-action project. Keep in mind that this is far from confirmed, and we’re sharing these details before we know the full picture. What we have heard from one source is that Netflix is considering making a spinoff that focuses on Geralt’s witcher brothers Lambert and Coen, and surprisingly Eskel as well. This may be a prequel considering Eskel’s unfortunate circumstances in The Witcher season two. We weren’t feeling confident enough about this news to share it until recently when series cast members Paul Bullion (Lambert) and Yasen Atour (Coen) shared a picture on social media that showed they were recording something. Could this be voice acting for the next Witcher anime film? Maybe, maybe not. Either way, the prospect of the witcher brothers reuniting for a spinoff is exciting and we’d like to see if it pans out.
Spoiler Report: The Witcher Season 3 will feature a fan-favorite event that was skipped in the first season
Next up is a minor spoiler about The Witcher’s third season. From what we’ve learned, season 3 will open with the series’ leads Geralt, Yennefer, and Ciri celebrating the holiday of Belleteyn together. Readers of the books will know that Belleteyn is actually the birthday of both Ciri and Yennefer, so that may be brought up in the show. This is also a great opportunity to revisit a scene cut from the first season which is crucial to understanding Geralt and Yennefer’s relationship. After the end of season two, the two are in a difficult place and a scene similar to the one in the short story Something More would allow the writers to shed more light on the complexity of their relationship and the deep love that exists between them.
Belleteyn is based on the real-world event of Beltane, a Gaelic “May Day” festival that celebrates the midpoint between the Spring Equinox and the Summer Solstice. Just like in the books, the people would gather around fires and celebrate at the height of Spring. In fact, this festival is still celebrated in some areas. The above image, for instance, is from a recent festival in Edinburgh. The books also suggest that this holiday serves as an excuse for people to sleep around and pursue their sexual fantasies, though we’re not quite sure if that’s historically accurate or simply a creation of Andrzej Sapkowski. The show’s take on the festival may yet be different from what we read in the books, so we’ll have to wait and see.
And that will be all for the mid-April recap of news about Netflix’s The Witcher. Now that the cast and crew have seemingly dispersed for the Easter break, the news is sure to die down for a week or two before filming resumes in the United Kingdom. For all the latest news from the Continent, make sure to follow the Redanian Intelligence Twitter account @RedanianIntel.