According to The Witcher fansite, Redanian Intelligence, Cassie Clare has reportedly been cast to play the character of Philippa Eilhart in Season 2, which is currently filming. Cassie is probably most well-known for her roles in the TV series Delicious as well as The Bisexual.
The character that Cassie will be portraying is quite often cited as a favorite among fans of The Witcher and many had been eagerly awaiting any casting news.
While no source was given for this latest casting news, the fansite often drops news ahead of official announcements and, as a result of this, various news outlets have also shared the announcement.
Recently, they also announced that Kevin Doyle would also appear in Season 2 of The Witcher.
Who is Philippa Eilhart?
In the game, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, this character is a powerful sorceress. She is also a master of polymorphy and is able to transform into an owl at will.
However, it is believed by many that she had a hand in the death of King Vizimir II. As a result of this, his son, Radovid V, is desperate to have her killed in the game and, one encounter between the two sees Philippa’s eyes being gouged out.
Using her skill of polymorphy, see manages to evade capture and is able to work on trying to regrow her eyes as well as trying to restart the Lodge of Sorceresses.
As GamesRadar points out, in the book series, Philippa is considered a much more substantial character so it comes as no surprise that she should appear in Season 2 of The Witcher. They also refer to Philippa as a “frenemy” of Yennefer of Vengerberg (played by Anya Chalotra in Netflix’s adaptation of The Witcher) and as having lost “her taste for men hundreds of years ago,” which should lead to some pretty interesting dynamics in the TV series.
Casting a woman of color has caused a divide among some fans
Many fans have a very stylized version of what they expected to see with the casting of Philippa Eilhart. And, for some, that meant that a Caucasian woman should have been cast.
As a result of this, there has been plenty of heated discussion on various social media platforms about Clare’s casting. Many declared that there was no need to get political in the TV series and insisted that a woman of color was not needed for this role.
Others, though, loved the change, pointing out that there was no need for Philippa to be any one particular race because it played absolutely no bearing on her character or motivation.
The first season of The Witcher is currently streaming on Netflix.