In December, Netflix's fantasy epic "The Witcher" closed with a bang. Two years after the first season introduced viewers to the streaming giant's attempt at a "Game of Thrones"-like worldview (with multiple spin-offs), Season 2, which follows the adventures of Geralt of Rivia (Henry Cavill) as a father, is a found-family and existential pain A brilliant meditation (and full of even more brutal fight scenes), it immediately ranked in Netflix's top 10.

In case you haven't checked out GoT's best fantasy show since its early seasons, The Witcher is based on the works of Polish author Andrej Sapkowski and tells the story of three protagonists who travel across a medieval monster country called "The Continent." In Season 2, the immortal warrior Gerard (the main character, The Witcher) takes in the doomed child Shiri (Freya Allan) and vows to protect her from a new super-villainous monster. Meanwhile, mage Jenefer (Anya Charotra) survived the Battle of Sodden last season, but is caught up in the war and politics between the Kingdom of Nilfgaard and the Brotherhood of Mages.

After eight episodes of war and monsters, season two ended with the series' biggest cliffhanger to date. Fortunately, Season 3 is already in the works and is expected to return in less than two years. Below is everything we know about the third season of The Witcher.

The Witcher was actually renewed for a third season months before the second season aired, much to the delight of fans; Netflix announced at the Tudum fan event last September that a season three was confirmed; Netflix also announced that a third season of The The Witcher Cinematic Universe" will continue to grow through a second animated film (separate from this summer's "Nightmare of the Wolves") and a series for kids and families.

Creator Lauren Schmidt Hissrich said during the livestream event, according to Entertainment Weekly (opens in new tab), "We are so excited to continue to grow this universe and we can't We can't wait to have you join us."

Netflix typically tends to announce renewals a few months after a season release, leaving fans to wait a while for the new season. The Witcher season 3 staff had a three-month head start, so the season 2 premiere was good news that season 3 was almost completely written.

Hissrich told TechRadar (opens in new tab) that the writers room for season 3 will be finished by the end of 2021. 'The scripting phase is almost done, which is great. Because it's based on 'A Time to Despise,' which I love," Hissrich said.

"I feel like Seasons 1 and 2 have set the groundwork for all the huge things that are going to happen," he said. But the creative process is really just beginning now." Now that we have a script, we're bringing in directors and actors to dig deeper and look back and make it the perfect season."

According to PC Gamer, in January 2022, "The Witcher" Season 3 officially went into production, and the show's crew released photos of location scouting and filming preparations. Then in March, the show began filming, and the official Twitter account shared photos from the set:

The show's Twitter account also shared the official synopsis for the third season:

"As the monarchs, mages, and beasts of the continent race to capture her, Geralt is determined to take Centra's Siri to his lair and protect her from those who would destroy her newly united family. Entrusted with Siri's magical training, Jenefer leads Siri to the protected fortress of Arethusa, where he expects to learn more about Siri's untapped powers. They must fight back and fight with everything they have.

To briefly summarize where the characters stand at the end of Season 2, Geralt, Jenefer, and Siri are safe (for now) in Caer Morhen together after Siri sent Vores from the Monolith to the demon world. They are also upset that the Ghosts of Merog (aka Wild Hunt, briefly the WCU's Cavalry of the Apocalypse) have invited Siri to join them and bring about the end of the world. Luckily, Jenefer has regained her magical powers, and she and Gerardt make plans to train Siri to be a savior rather than the destroyer of the world.

Outside of the main trio, everyone on the continent seems to be after Siri. The Brotherhood plans to kill her and those who protect her in order to stop a possible apocalypse. The leaders of one of the countries, Redania, are trying to claim Sintra and get Siri in order to become the most powerful kingdom. The elves believe that Siri, with the blood of the elders, will be their savior. Meanwhile, the Nilfgaard, the main aggressor nation, is after Siri's power, but its enigmatic leader has a more personal agenda. Emperor Emhil, the "White Flame," is actually Siri's father, who was thought to be dead. All roads lead to Siri.

Like Season 2, Season 3 of The Witcher will adapt the main events of one of the books, with new plot lines and character upgrades added by the show. (Hisrich confirmed that the third season will be based on the second volume of the Sapkowski saga, The Time of Contempt. In that book, Jenefer, Ciri, and Geralt (reunited in the Season 2 finale) head for the Brotherhood headquarters in Arethusa; in Contempt, a coup d'etat occurs, forcing the main trio to split up again.

As for changes that may come up in the future, Hissrich has already revealed future plot points to Polygon (open in new tab), while also noting the major changes that Season 2 made from its original Blood of Elves.

"Viewers will have noticed that we focused on the Elves storyline in Season 2. But in Season 3, we're going to introduce the Skoiatar, an army of elves fighting for the Nilfgaard. And they don't look too good. It's a pretty harsh, dark story.

"So I want to try to understand and humanize some of their battles. Where do they come from? What are they fighting for? What is their background, even if they lost their way along the way?

Meanwhile, Cavill told IGN: "I think we have a chance to delve a little more into the Nenneke relationship, to be true to the book. Of course, I would love to work more with the Witcher and his team, but it depends on how far the story allows. I'm a big fan of the books and I'll stay true to them.

Anya Charotra, aka Yenefer, told the magazine: "She's how old she is now, she's lived her life the way she's lived it and she's lived by her own rules. She may have learned to think things through more, but at the moment, in such a violent world, you have to watch out for yourself as well."

The Season 2 finale ended with a post-credits surprise teaser for the upcoming spin-off miniseries The Witcher: Blood Origin, a six-episode spin-off set 1,200 years before the main story, the first Witcher Origin story and "The Joining of the Spheres," an event in which monsters from "The Witcher" filled the continent. Blood Origins will star Michelle Yeoh (Crazy Rich Asians), Mirren Mack (Sex Education), and Jacob Collins-Levy (White Princess), and will premiere in 2022.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly (opens in new tab), Blood Origin showrunner Declan de Barra explained that the miniseries (led by Michelle Yeoh) will show what the world was like for the elves before they were betrayed by humans

"

"The miniseries will portray what the world was like for elves (led by Michelle Yeoh) before they were betrayed by humans.

"The writers got together to develop the storyline for 'The Witcher' Season 2, and we hit a plot hole." "We were trying to understand what the world was like for the elves just before the joining of the spheres," de Barra told the outlet. 'The book is very vague about what happened. What did the elves want in this world, what was society like before colonization? That kind of stuck with me."

Viewers won't have to have seen all of The Witcher, but the new series will provide a more complete picture, says Hisrich, who is also the producer of Blood Origin. 'What we're really trying to do is reward viewers who have seen all of our films. It may not mean much when you watch this season, but when you watch Blood Origins when it's released, you'll understand it a little better."