Monsters! Magic! Musical entertainment! All three are central ingredients in The Witcher – and all seem to be back in full force for Season 3 of Netflix’s epic fantasy adaptation. After a long wait, the show is finally returning in a matter of weeks – not only bringing the latest adventures of Geralt, Yennefer and Ciri to fans, but marking the final season in which Henry Cavill will be playing the central role (to be replaced for Season 4 by Liam Hemsworth). Looking at the latest trailer, there are hopes that Cavill will at least be going out on a high – with lashings more monster-battling action, promise of war brewing in The Continent, hints of the Wild Hunt arriving, and all kinds of neck-slicing finishing moves to boot.
It’s inescapable really – you can’t help but watch this trailer and be sad that Cavill is putting down the silver wig after this season. He really is great as Geralt, both in the gravelly gravitas (with lashings of sarcasm) stakes, and in the sword-swinging fight sequences. For Season 3, he’s finally properly united with Yennefer – his will-they-won’t-they ultra-powerful sorceress lover – and surrogate daughter Ciri, after two seasons of getting the band together. And, for various reasons, it seems they’re all under fire from several factions of The Witcher’s sprawling world. Beyond all the dense lore and world-building, the show has always found time for electrifying creature clashes, and it seems there’ll be more of that too, both on the high seas, and something that looks like a game arena. Oh, and singing bard Jaskier is still a major player here, for some reason.
Toss your coins to Netflix and catch the first ‘volume’ of The Witcher Season 3 on 29 June – before the second ‘volume’ drops on 27 July. Then, stay tuned to see how Hemsworth fills those leather boots…