The Witcher showrunner Lauren S. Hissrich has confirmed seven new castings for Season 2 of Netflix’s hit epic fantasy series. Out of these, two had previously been rumored as cast by the fansite Redanian Intelligence.
Hissrich shared a tweet to her official Twitter account today that saw the new lineup. Along with the announcement, she also thanked Sophie Holland for her casting prowess.
Here’s who is joining the cast for Season 2 of The Witcher
Previously, it had been alleged that Cassie Clare would be portraying Phillipa Eilhart. This has now been confirmed by Hissrich and Netflix.
In addition, the other speculated casting of Downton Abbey’s Kevin Doyle has also been established as fact. He will play a character called Ba’Lian.
Along with these new cast members, Liz Carr, Simon Callow, Chris Fulton, Adjoa Andoh, and Outlander’s Graham McTavish will also take on roles in Season 2 of The Witcher.
Carr will portray Fenn, Callow as Codringher, Fulton as Rience, Andoh as Nenneke, and McTavish as Dijkstra.
As IGN points out, this cast lineup will join the previously announced “Yasen Atour playing Coen and Paul Bullion portraying Lambert, together with Agnes Born as Vereena, Basil Eidenbenz as Eskel, Aisha Fabienne Ross as Lydia, Kristofer Hivju as Nivellen, Mecia Simson as Francesca, and Kim Bodnia as Vesemir.”
What we know about these characters for Season 2
While Hissrich did not include further details about the new characters, there is plenty that can be gleaned from both the book series by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski as well as The Witcher video games by CD Projekt Red.
As Cinema Blend points out, Sigismund Dijkstra is a master spy and the head of Redanian Intelligence as well as “other special forces.” In the game, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Geralt has several run-ins with this character in his search for Ciri.
Philippa Eilhart is an adviser to King Vizimir II and is a powerful sorceress who can transform into an owl at will. It is also rumored that she had a hand in the death of the king. Vizimir’s son, Radovid V, is determined to have Eilhart killed and, during one of their encounters, she loses her eyes thanks to Radovid.
Rience is a “major antagonist in the Witcher book series,” according to IGN. In the books, the mage is tasked with tracking down Ciri.
Fenn is a Dorian detective and Codringer is her partner.
Andoh’c character, Nenneke is another staple from the books. She is another priestess as well as being the head of the Temple of Melitele.
Nothing is known so far about the character called Ba’Lian, as he does not appear anywhere within either source so viewers will likely just have to wait until Season 2 airs in order to find out more.
The first season of The Witcher is currently streaming on Netflix.