We’re just a week out from the premiere of The Witcher season 3 volume 1 on Netflix. The monster-hunting fantasy show is going to have a big year. Season 3 will adapt some pretty important events from Andrzej Sapkowski’s Witcher books, as well as mark the final appearance of star Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia. It’s the end of an era, people.
We’ve got quite a bit of witchering news to run through today, but perhaps the most exciting is a new behind-the-scenes video that premiered on IGN:
Behind-the-scenes Witcher video shows new characters in action
There’s a ton of exciting stuff in this four-minute video. We hear Cavill, Anya Chalotra (Yennefer), and Freya Allan (Ciri) talk about the new season and get a look at some brand-new characters and locations. New characters include the elf Gallatin (Robbie Amell), the woodland archer Milva (Meng’er Zheng), and Prince Radovid (Hugh Skinner). We also get to see Christelle Elwin in costume as Mistle, a member of the teenage band of thieves known as the Rats.
Cavill, Chalotra, and Allan all say how excited they were to work together for some of the more domestic scenes early in the season, where our found family of heroes will be taking some time off from adventuring to protect Ciri from the various forces searching for her how to use magic. It looks deceptively calm and nice, so you know it won’t last; and indeed, we get hints in this trailer that the group will eventually be forced to go to Aretuza, where a massive set piece waits for them.
This sneak peek also includes some footage which is most likely from volume 2, which isn’t coming out until July. We see Ciri in the Korath desert and Geralt looking in pretty rough shape in Brokilon Forest. Both of these scenes feature near the end of The Time of Contempt, the book this season is largely based on.
The Witcher season 3 volume 1 episode descriptions
According to Witcher fansite Redanian Intelligence, Netflix has also released the episode synopses for The Witcher season 3 volume 1, which consists of the five episodes. Here they are:
- Episode 1 — “Shaerrawedd”: Geralt, Yennefer, & Ciri journey to the far reaches of the Continent. King Vizimir puts his charming younger brother to use.
- Episode 2 — “Unbound”: Geralt is shocked by the information he learns about Rience. Ciri’s sense of justice causes problems. Jaskier performs for a royal fan.
- Episode 3 — “Reunion”: Geralt seeks magical help from a family friend while Ciri & Yennefer clash. Philippa & Dijkstra scheme to get Vizimir in line.
- Episode 4 — “The Invitation”: Yennefer pitches an idea to the Brotherhood. Geralt strikes a deal with a ferryman. Triss investigates the missing novices.
- Episode 5 — “The Art of Illusion”: Yennefer & Geralt step out arm in arm & dressed to kill at a lavish ball, but all is not as it seems during a night of revelry.
Let the speculation commence!
The Witcher: Old World board game is out now from CD Projekt Red and Go On Board
We round out our witchering news with some game stuff. CD Projekt Red, the game studio behind the wildly successful Witcher video games, has just released a new Witcher board game in collaboration with the Go On Board board game company. Here’s the official description of the game:
"The Witcher: Old World is a 1-5 player competitive adventure board game set long before the time of Geralt of Rivia. Monsters roam the Continent in huge numbers, and it is the role of witchers of the five witcher schools to tackle the ever-present threat head on. As they take on the role of these professional monster slayers, The Witcher: Old World players travel across a vast map and embark on quests filled with moral choices and deadly battles, and earn coins and trophies on their journey to become the most successful witcher out there.In addition to a beautifully rendered physical map board where the bulk of the action of The Witcher: Old World takes place, the game features finely crafted miniatures of witchers and monsters, both wholly original and based on designs from The Witcher series of video games. The gameplay also boasts a simple yet deep deck-building component which allows players to unleash sword strikes, engage in witcher combat magic, craft powerful combos, and undertake other actions during their adventures with the goal of staying ahead of the competition."
The Witcher: Old World is out now. The Witcher season 3 volume 1 premieres on Netflix on June 29.
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