The Witcher announces season 3 actors, including Stephen Amell’s cousin

The Witcher is Netflix’s flagship fantasy show; season 2 of the series was one of the platform’s biggest hits of 2021, and it’s done well enough that the streamer already has multiple spinoffs in the works, including the upcoming Blood Origin limited series starring Michelle Yeoh.

Today, however, the news is all about The Witcher season 3, which just began filming earlier this month. Netflix announced a few new castings for the show’s new season, and they’re pretty awesome. These are key characters who serve important roles in the narrative, and they’ve got some stellar actors to portray them. It also tells us a little about what to expect so far as the plot goes.

We’ll be discussing some mild SPOILERS from The Witcher books by Andrzej Sapkwoski, so beware.

Robbie Amell is Gallatin in The Witcher season 3

First up, we have Upload and Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City star Robbie Amell as Gallatin. No, this isn’t the guy from Arrow; that’s Stephen Amell. This is his cousin who looks stunningly similar.

Here’s the official description for the character:

"A born fighter, Gallatin leads an army of guerrilla Scoia’tael fighting on behalf of Nilfgaard. Unafraid to speak his truth, Gallatin’s loyalty to his people ultimately leads him on a collision course with Francesca over power."

The Scoia’tael elves are overdue to be in the series; they feature in The Witcher book Blood of Elves, on which season 2 was based on. Instead, the show opted to give us a bit more of an origin story for the Elven guerilla army by following Francesca Findabair (Mecia Simson) as she allies with Nilfgaard and is inevitably betrayed.

Of all the castings announced today, Gallatin is the only original character that did not appear in the Witcher novels.

Meng’er Zhang is Milva in The Witcher season 3

Next is Meng’er Zhang as Milva, and man is this an exciting casting! Zhang is best known for her role as Xu Xialing in Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. She did a fantastic job in that movie and could bring a lot to this really important character.

"A human adopted by the dryads of Brokilon Forest, Milva is a fierce and talented huntress. Exact archery skills coupled with a stone-cold aptitude for survival make her a formidable adversary in the unforgiving Continent – those that cross her, do so at their peril."

Fans have been waiting to hear about this role for a while. Even though Milva doesn’t technically show up in The Time of Contempt, the book which The Witcher season 3 is drawing from, she features prominently throughout the rest of the series. This means the show will either be moving up her introduction, or adding additional material for her. She has some ties to the Scoia’tael, so it’s possible that we’ll see her factor into their plotline in some way. By the end of the season, we expect she’ll have crossed paths with Geralt.

Hugh Skinner is Prince Radovid in The Witcher season 3

From there, we move on to Redania. Hugh Skinner will be playing Prince Radovid, a character fans of the games will know quite well. Skinner is best known for his time on Poldark, where he played Unwin Trevaunance.

"Royal playboy and younger brother to King Vizimir, Radovid finds himself suddenly a man on the inside of the Redanian Intelligence. With his good looks and drunken charm, Radovid amazes with how incisive he can be in political affairs, but it’s all games until someone gets hurt."

Radovid isn’t especially prominent in the Witcher novels, but is one of the most prominent villains in the entire Witcher game franchise. He has a reputation for being mercurial and terrifying, as well as a tactical genius.

We’ll be seeing Radovid in the show while he’s still younger and his older brother Vizimir is still in power as the King of Redania. If there’s any character the show might really expand on and draw from the games for, it’s him. Please Netflix, make Radovid’s rise to power even more brutal and twisty in the show!

Christelle Elwin is Mistle in The Witcher season 3

That brings us to our last casting. Christelle Elwin will portray the bandit Mistle in The Witcher season 3. Elwin’s previous credits include Netflix’s Half Bad and Bloods.

"Mistle is a member of The Rats, a gang of misfit teenagers who steal from the rich and give to themselves – and sometimes the poor. She is street hard, suspicious of everyone and out for revenge, until a chance meeting that will change everything."

Like Milva, Mistle is a really important character who features in several of The Witcher novels. She makes her debut at the end of The Time of Contempt, which makes it likely that we’ll see those events play out during season 3.

The Witcher season 3 is currently filming. The first two seasons are available on Netflix, and the Blood Origin prequel series is expected to hit the platform sometime this year.

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