Now that Season 2 of The Witcher has dropped and viewers have devoured the entire season in record numbers, it’s time to turn toward what to expect in Season 3.
Netflix has already confirmed that The Witcher has been renewed for another season.
In addition to this, the series showrunner has already revealed via her official Twitter account that the first drafts of the scripts are almost complete. Freya Allan, who portrays Ciri, has also teased viewers by revealing that she has already seen some of those scripts.
So, what can fans expect?
Showrunner Lauren S. Hissrich recently spoke out about two characters in particular concerning their sexuality and how that will play out in Season 3.
Philippa Eilhart is a queer icon in the books
Philippa Eilhart (Cassie Clare) was only teased in Season 2 of The Witcher. Spending most of her scenes as an owl until the very end, when her true identity was revealed during a conversation with Dijkstra (Gramham McTavish).
As yet, very little is known about Philippa in the TV series. However, The Witcher is based on a hugely successful book series by Andrzej Sapkowski, meaning there is plenty to be gleaned already about this character.
In a recent interview that the series showrunner Lauren S. Hissrich did with Digital Spy, the character’s sexual preference was addressed.
“We have Phillipa, who’s best known… I would say she’s a queer icon for book readers. We delve into her character. It’s not something we shy away from,” Hissrich said.
As pointed out by The Gamer, Philippa is known in the books as a bisexual character who “has a strong preference for women.” She also had an affair with Dijkstra in the books, which may play out to some degree in Season 3 of The Witcher.
Already, viewers know that Hissrich plans to stick close to the content in book three of The Witcher series when heading into Season 3. This means that what viewers know of Philippa from the books will likely stay true in the TV show.
The showrunner is also keen to bring even more diversity to her show, which casts various people of color in multiple roles.
“I found, historically, that a lot of fantasy was written by men, for men,” she revealed. “And so it was really interesting coming into this world as a woman, and saying, ‘OK, we have these amazing books that have these really strong female characters or queer characters.'”
Ciri’s sexuality will also be explored in The Witcher
Along with the inclusion of Philippa’s sexual orientation, Hissrich revealed that Season 3 of The Witcher would also focus on Ciri’s sexuality.
“I won’t know until we get there how I’m going to navigate how Ciri is navigating her own sexuality,” Hissrich said.
She explained that Ciri would delve into her own preferences in Season 3 of The Witcher as she takes on first a more manly appearance, as seen in Season 2, then decides to embrace her feminine side once more.
However, where Ciri’s preferences lie remains to be seen, and the showrunner left it open-ended for the time being with her final statement.
“I don’t think she’s really discovered yet about her sort of sexuality, necessarily, I think. It’s definitely something that she’s going to discover in potentially season three, potentially season four. We’ll see.”
Season 2 of The Witcher is currently available to stream on Netflix.