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How The Witcher Filming Shutdown Changed Season 2
The shutdown in the filming of The Witcher has resulted in changes to season 2. The Witcher is an action-fantasy Netflix series based on popular short stories and novels by Andrzej Sapkowski (and the popular video game series), revolving around monster hunters with supernatural abilities. Netflix's adaptation was first released in December of 2019, and was met with praise from fans, becoming one of the streaming service's most-watched shows. The Season 1 story was told through the eyes of three characters: Geralt of Rivia (Henry Cavill), Princess Ciri (Freya Allan), and Yennefer (Anya Chalotra), and spanned multiple time periods.
Season 2 was announced even prior to the launch of the show's first season. While the second season was set for a late 2021 release date, this may end up getting pushed back due to the COVID-19 outbreak that resulted in a shutdown of production. In fact, one of the actors on season 2, Kristofer Hivju, announced mid-March that he had tested positive for coronavirus. Hivju is most well-known for playing Tormund in Game of Thrones. Despite setbacks, principal photography on The Witcher is expected to resume later this summer.
During an interview with The Wrap, showrunner Lauren S. Hissrich shared that the experience will be completely different from season 1 once production resumes. According to Hissrich, changes were made as a result of the shutdown. "It's going to impact story. It will have to. But one of the best things about being a writer on set is that I'm there to make those changes as we need them." Hissrich expanded, stating that the writers spent a lot of time during the lockdown perfecting the scripts. Big changes were made, particularly involving the emotional character arcs, while making sure that everything feels grounded.
The Witcher is just one of the many productions that were forced to shut down temporarily due to the outbreak. However, with businesses and companies slowly beginning to re-open and ramp up, fans may still have the chance to watch season 2 later this year. There are still so many questions that need to be answered along with other elements that will hopefully be addressed when the show returns. What is the aftermath of the Battle of Sodden Hill, and the condition of Yennefer? What is the full nature of Ciri's powers? What exactly did Geralt ask the djinn for? Viewers have also yet to see the three main characters together as one group.
Hopefully, all this and more will be answered when The Witcher returns for season 2. However, if season 1 is any indication of what's to come, it's also likely that viewers will be left with new questions as soon as the old ones are answered. The question also remains as to whether or not production will finish once it starts up again. There's no telling what will happen if the outbreak isn't managed carefully, and the safety of all of those working on the show should take priority over the filming. Regardless of when new episodes of The Witcher arrive, it's clear that a lot of work has gone into making the show even more entertaining than its premiere season.
