The valley has indeed grown rather plentiful.
Although set pictures and casting rumours have been swirling around recently, Netflix has now officially confirmed that the sophomore season of its fantasy smash hit The Witcher has entered production for season two. The news brings with it confirmation of a bunch of new faces joining the series—including a helping hand from Game of Thrones’ very own Tormund Giantsbane, Kristofer Hivju.
Hivju will play Nivellen, a minor character from the books that Geralt encounters in his travels, cursed with a monstrous appearance after being co-erced into sexually assaulting a priestess by a gang of robbers. He’s one of seven new cast members confirmed for the series, alongside Yasen Atour, Paul Bullion, and Thue Ersted Rasmussen—who will play a trio of Witchers named Coen, Lambert, and Eskel, respectively—as well as Agnes Bjorn as Vereena—a vampiric being who falls in love with Hivju’s Nivellen—Aisha Fabienne Ross as Lydia, and newcomer Mecia Simson as Francesca.
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Although unconfirmed, Lydia and Francesca could perhaps be the sorceresses Lydia van Bredevoort and Francesca Findabair—the latter of whom would make sense given she was a founding member of the Lodge of Sorceresses established in the wake of the Brotherhood’s downfall, something we saw the beginning off in the climax of Witcher’s first season at the costly battle of Sodden Hill.
And then, of course, there’s the returning cast in the form of Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia, Anya Chalotra as the sorceress Yennefer of Vengerberg, Freya Allen as the princess of the fallen kingdom of Cintra, Ciri, and Joey Batey as bard and songwriter of the year 2019, Jaskier. But you should probably have expected them to be back anyway!
The Witcher will not return for round two this year, as previously confirmed by showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich, but will instead hit the streaming service sometime in 2021. Let’s hope it brings a few bathtubs along for the fun.
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