As popular as many of Netflix’s original series are, few can compete with The Witcher. The fantasy series debuted in 2019, but it has already established itself as one of the streaming service’s biggest franchises. According to Netflix’s top 10 site, the first and second seasons are among the service’s most popular of all time. As such, it’s no surprise that the fans are anxiously awaiting news about the next season. They finally got that news on Monday, as Netflix confirmed that The Witcher season 3 is officially in production.
The Witcher season 3 starts production
Netflix’s official Twitter account for The Witcher shared a picture of the three stars on set to announce the show’s imminent return. In the set photo, we see Yennefer (Anya Chalorta), Ciri (Freya Allen), and Geralt (Henry Cavill) talking between scenes.
Our family is back together again. #TheWitcher Season 3 is officially in production! pic.twitter.com/rlBl0j3lT1
— The Witcher (@witchernetflix) April 4, 2022
In addition to the set photo, Netflix also shared the official plot summary for The Witcher’s third season. If you want to go in completely blind, you might want to skip this. Otherwise, here’s a taste of what you have to look forward to in the next season:
As monarchs, mages, and beasts of the Continent compete to capture her, Geralt takes Ciri of Cintra into hiding, determined to protect his newly reunited family against those who threaten to destroy it. Entrusted with Ciri’s magical training, Yennefer leads them to the protected fortress of Aretuza, where she hopes to discover more about the girl’s untapped powers; instead, they discover they’ve landed in a battlefield of political corruption, dark magic, and treachery. They must fight back, put everything on the line – or risk losing each other forever.
The Witcher
showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich revealed last December that season 3 will be based on The Time of Contempt, which is the second novel of Andrzej Sapkowski’s Witcher Saga. There are six novels in all, as well as 15 short stories. That leaves plenty more story to tell as long as the cast is on board and Netflix continues to renew the show.
The Witcher season 4 and beyond
Following the success of The Witcher’s first season, Netflix began building out the franchise with spinoffs. The first was the animated movie The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf, focusing on the backstory of Geralt’s mentor Vesemir. The streamer also revealed plans for another animated movie, but has yet to share any details about the plot.
Netflix has also announced a live-action prequel series called The Witcher: Blood Origin that will star Michelle Yeoh. It will be set 1,200 years before the original series, and will depict the creation of the first witcher.
Filming on the series wrapped up late last year, and a teaser for the series debuted after the credits of The Witcher season 2 finale.
The second season of The Witcher debuted on Netflix almost two years to the day after the first season. Providing Netflix sticks with this release cadence, it could be nearly two years before season 3 arrives. The spinoffs should help to tide fans over until then.
More Netflix coverage: For more Netflix news, check out our coverage of the latest new Netflix movies and series to watch.
