Netflix has officially announced The Witcher season 2's new cast members, directors, and episode count as production gets underway. The streamer's adaptation of Andrzej Sapkowski's fantasy novels has quickly become one of its all-time biggest hits (in terms of viewership, that is) since its first season premiered back in December. Luckily for them, Netflix was ahead of the curve and ordered season 2 more than a month before "Toss A Coin To Your Witcher" became a viral craze, among other Witcher-related success stories. As such, showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich and her production team are already well into developing the next chapter in the small screen Witcher Saga.

Season 2 will, of course, pick up where season 1 left things, with Geralt of Rivia (Henry Cavill) and Cintra crown princess Ciri (Freya Allan) finally together and destined to cross paths with Yennefer of Vengerberg (Anya Chalotra) in the foreseeable future. There have been a handful of casting updates in recent weeks, teasing the other characters from Sapkowski's source material set to appear in season 2 and hinting at production getting started. Now, Netflix has come out and confirmed the full cast for season 2.

In an official announcement (via Deadline), Netflix revealed production on The Witcher season 2 has begun, ahead of its release in 2021. The new cast members in season 2 include Kristofer Hivju (Game of Thrones) as Nivellen, Yasen Atour (Robin Hood) as Coën, Paul Bullion (Peaky Blinders) as Lambert, Thue Ersted Rasmussen (Fast and Furious 9) as Eskel, Aisha Fabienne Ross (The Danish Girl) as Lydia, and newcomers Agnes Bjorn as Vereena and Mecia Simson as Francesca. Among those coming back from season 1 are Joey Batey as everyone's favorite Bard Jaskier, in addition to MyAnna Buring as Tissaia, Tom Canton as Filavandrel, Lilly Cooper as Murta, Jeremy Crawford as Yarpin Zigrin, Eamon Farren as Cahir, Mahesh Jadu as Vilgefortz, Terence Maynard as Artorius, Lars Mikkelson as Stregobor, Mimi Ndiweni as Fringilla Vigo, Royce Pierrseson as Istredd, Wilson Radjou-Pujalte as Dara, Anna Shaffer as Triss Merigold, and Therica Wilson Read as Sabrina.


The Witcher season 2 is also confirmed to be eight episodes long (like season 1), with Stephen Surjik (The Umbrella Academy) directing episodes one and two, Sarah O’Gorman (Cursed) helming episodes three and four, Ed Bazalgette (The Last Kingdom) overseeing episodes five and eight, and Geeta Patel (Meet The Patels) calling the shots on episodes six and seven. In an official statement, Hissrich praised casting director Sophie Holland and her team, saying they've "once again found the very best people to embody these characters, and in the hands of these accomplished directors, we’re excited to see these new stories come to life".

As mentioned, a handful of these new cast members have been reported on over the past few weeks, including Hivju as Nivellen. The character, a charismatic fellow from an aristocratic family who was cursed for crimes he committed when he was much younger, has typically been compared to The Beast from Beauty and the Beast and may appear as early as the first episode of The Witcher season 2 (which, in turn, would be adapting Sapkowski's short story "A Grain of Truth"). Elsewhere, Bullion and Atour's casting as Lambert and Coën - a pair of Witchers who help train Ciri while she stays at the Witcher stronghold of Kaer Morhen in Sapkowski's books - indicates season 2 will further explore the history of the different Witcher schools (Coën hales from the School of the Griffin, whereas Geralt and Lambert come from the School of the Wolf).

Interestingly, however, there's no mention of Geralt's mentor, Vesemir, in this announcement. The younger version of the character was heard in The Witcher season 1 (where he was voiced by Theo James), but is expected to appear in the flesh in season 2 as an older man. It's possible Netflix is planning to make a bigger deal of the character's casting by announcing it at a later date, considering what a major player he is. Who knows, they may've even roped their frequent collaborator and geek icon Mark Hamill into playing him.

The Witcher season 2 premieres on Netflix sometime in 2021.