The Witcher Season 3: Release Date, Trailer, Cast & More

The Witcher Season 3: Release Date, Trailer, Cast & More

Ciri’s (Freya Allan) tutelage at Kaer Morhen did not quite go the way Geralt (Henry Cavill) had hoped in season 2 of The Witcher , but the journey continues with an eight-episode third season starting this June. And though Geralt, Ciri, and Yennefer (Anya Chalotra) are finally united in a common goal, nothing is ever easy for them. These tensions are highlighted in a new trailer (above) for the third season, which features Geralt admitting that — at least for one moment — Jaskier is right. The wandering songsmith’s response: “I’m right … well, that’s deeply worrying.” What does that...

Ciri’s (Freya Allan) tutelage at Kaer Morhen did not quite go the way Geralt (Henry Cavill) had hoped in season 2 of The Witcher , but the journey continues with an eight-episode third season starting this June. And though Geralt, Ciri, and Yennefer (Anya Chalotra) are finally united in a common goal, nothing is ever easy for them. These tensions are highlighted in a new trailer (above) for the third season, which features Geralt admitting that — at least for one moment — Jaskier is right. The wandering songsmith’s response: “I’m right … well, that’s deeply worrying.” What does that mean as the series heads into its third year? The season will be based on the second long-form Witcher novel, Time of Contempt, with some continuing threads from the first and, it seems, even a couple of ideas from the third novel, making it even more of a unique version of the story than season 2’s adaptation on Blood of Elves. According to showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich, it is “the culmination of what we’ve been building toward all along.” So, let’s take a look at what we know about the third season so far and see what we can read from its bones. What’s Next for Ciri and Geralt? Henry Cavill (Geralt of Rivia), Freya Allan (Princess Cirilla of Cintra), and Anya Chalotra (Yennefer of Vengerberg) in The Witcher season 3 (Photo by Susie Allnutt/Netflix) In previous seasons, we’ve been able to use the books of Witcher author Andrzej Sapkowski for some insight, but now things start to change, even if the broad strokes remains the same. As revealed in Blood of Elves and season 2 of The Witcher, one of the big problems facing the main trio is the fact all the power players on the Continent know Ciri is alive and carries the elder blood. As seen in the new Season 3 trailer, she is connected to everything and there is nothing Yennefer or Geralt can do to prevent her from eventually confronting it.
“Now, there is a real threat,” Cavil told Netflix’s Tudum in May. “It’s genuine; it’s no longer theoretical — it’s practical. And it’s very, very dangerous. They are walking into the lion’s den everywhere they go.”
According to Netflix’s own description of the season to come, “Geralt takes Ciri of Cintra into hiding, determined to protect his newly-reunited family against those who threaten to destroy it.” It will allow the opportunity for Yennefer to train Ciri in the use of her powers (as glimpsed in the recent trailer) and for their bond to be properly forged. As Allan recently explained, “People don’t always make the right choices. But ultimately, I think everyone knows [Yen]’s good at the core. They have such similarities that I think Ciri can’t help but latch onto Yennefer … Also, through Yennefer teaching Ciri, they do begin to build that trust up.” (Photo by Netflix) Click image to open full poster in new tab. But Yennefer will also take a cue from her novel counterpart by bringing Ciri and Geralt to Aretuza. Unfortunately, the situation there is described as a “battlefield of political corruption, dark magic, and treachery.” The trailer also suggests atmosphere will be highlighted at a mage’s ball Geralt and Yen must navigate with the same difficulty they faced on the road. And if events there occur as they do in Time of Contempt, they may discover they were better off facing Nilfgaard and the Northern Kings from the heights of Kaer Morhen.
Then again, all the political shenanigans and cross-talk among the mages may also offer further opportunities for Ciri and Geralt to mend their trust issues with Yennefer. Sure, a lot would have to transpire to get them to that point, but a monumental change like that is worth of another eight-episode season, especially as circumstances will no doubt see them separated before too long. The teaser trailer released in April even sees them literally split thanks t...