The Witcher season 3 reportedly casts a villain from the books

Season 2 of The Witcher was a monster hit on Netflix, ranking as one of the streamer’s most-watched show of 2021. Geralt of Rivia, Yennefer of Vengerberg, and Princess Ciri have officially staked out their claim on the fantasy television landscape, and Netflix is hard at work capitalizing on their success with prequels and spinoffs. But while the Blood Origin prequel starring Michelle Yeoh might be creeping up, the studio is also hard at work on season 3 of the mothership Witcher show.

As of this writing, we know the scripts for season 3 are written and that the show was scouting new filming locations last month. We’ve had our ear to the ground for any new bits of witchering news, and now we’ve got some.

The Witcher season 3 reportedly casting a villain from the books

The Witcher fansite Redanian Intelligence reports that the show is currently casting a new villain for season 3: the Professor. The Professor, also known as Ralf Blunden, is an assassin who is tasked with hunting down Yennefer and Ciri in The Time of Contempt, the book that season 3 will largely be drawing from. He only appears briefly in the book series, as his attempts to capture the sorceress and her charge eventually lead him afoul of Geralt of Rivia, and we all know how that usually goes.

The Professor is a distinctive character on the page; he wears gold-rimmed glasses and speaks in a strangely disjointed manner. Nonetheless, he is a professional killer who the character Codhringer describes as “better than the Michelets.” You’ll remember the Michelets are the mercenary brothers that Geralt killed in the Temple of Melitele during season 2.

As for what the Professor’s up to, it seems relatively safe to assume that he’ll be chasing Ciri and Yen just like he does in the books. Redanian Intelligence has a bit of the transcript from an audition tape for the role, where the Professor refers to his employer as “Master Richard.” The site notes this is the production’s code name used for Rience, the fire-wielding sorcerer who’s hunting Ciri and Geralt in season 2.

The Professor also shows up in the first Witcher video game, where he leads an attack on the witcher’s keep of Kaer Morhen. Naturally, the video game version is sporting the character’s gold-rimmed glasses.

As always, we need to underline that this is not an official confirmation from Netflix or the team behind The Witcher, and as such it should be taken with a healthy dose of skepticism. That said, Redanian Intelligence is usually just as tenacious in their vetting of information as the spies of King Radovid from which they take their name, so this is something we’ll be keeping our eye on.

The Witcher season 3 is currently in pre-production, and seasons 1 and 2 are available to watch on Netflix. Blood Origin is expected later this year.

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