The latest leaked images from the set of The Witcher season 2 have given us our first look at the fearsome Wild Hunt.
The photos come from The Daily Mail and were clandestinely taken from the set on a chilly-looking beach in Devon, Southern England.
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The images show various warriors riding on horses across the sand wearing elaborate armor and brandishing some pretty intimidating weaponry. Fan speculation has identified them as the Wild Hunt’s Red Riders, some of the most fearsome enemies in the entire Witcher lore.
The Wild Hunt was first introduced in the novel Time of Contempt, which is the second mainline Witcher book written by Andrzej Sapkowski. They also play a very prominent role in CD Projekt Red’s critically-acclaimed Witcher video game series; in fact, the third game is even called The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
Anyone who has played through The Witcher 3 will know what formidable foes these wraith-like beings are. They'll certainly be a step up from any of the adversaries that Henry Cavill’s Geralt of Rivia faced in the first season of the hit Netflix series.
Speaking of Geralt, neither Cavill nor any of the other stars of The Witcher can be spotted in these set photos. That could indicate that season 2 will only introduce viewers to The Wild Hunt, rather than making them a central part of the plot — with the inevitable showdown potentially reserved for a later season.
We already know a fair amount about The Witcher season 2. It will adapt events in the novels Blood of Elves and Time of Contempt, as well as including at least one story from the anthology Sword of Destiny.
Official set photos have given us a look at princess Ciri in training at the witcher fortress Kaer Morhen, which will be a major story arc in the second season. New cast members have also been revealed, including Simon Callow and Adjoa Andoh, who was most recently seen in the smash-hit Netflix show Bridgerton.
Filming on the second season of the popular fantasy series was initially delayed by the coronavirus pandemic, but as these set photos show it appears to be back on track.
The release date for The Witcher season 2 is currently unknown, but given that the first season premiered in December 2019, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Netflix keep the tradition alive by launching S2 just in time for the 2021 holidays. Of course it's also possible that the pandemic may have impacted the planned release schedule, so we'll have to wait and see on this front.
