Game Of Thrones Alum Joins Netflix's The Witcher As Season 2 Begins Shooting

The second season of Netflix's The Witcher adaptation has now begun filming in the UK, with the company also sharing a new list of cast members joining the crew. The season will consist of eight episodes and debut in 2021.

The most notable is Kristoger Hivju, the wildling Tormond Giantsbane in Game of Thrones, who will now be portraying Nivellen--a cursed man that transforms into a beast in one of the best short stories from The Last Wish.

Here's the list of new characters cast for Season 2:

• Yasen Atour as Coën
• Agnes Bjorn as Vereena
• Paul Bullion as Lambert
• Kristofer Hivju as Nivellen
• Thue Ersted Rasmussen as Eskel
• Aisha Fabienne Ross as Lydia
• Mecia Simson as Francesca

Henry Cavill, Anya Chalotra, Freya Allan, and Joey Batey will all be returning as Geralt of Rivia, Yennefer, Ciri, and Jaskier respectively.

Included in the cast are also three new witchers, which you may recognise from The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Seen during your time at Kaer Morhen, Lambert and Eskel form two sides of the same coin, with the former being a reprehensible monster and the latter a more balanced and responsible monster hunter. The third, Coën, hails from an entirely different school of witchers, which will hopefully be explored in this new season.

Missing from the list is a character Witcher fans will immediately look for--Vesemir, Geralt's mentor, has yet to be cast. Star Wars actor Mark Hamill has expressed interest in the role, although Netflix has yet to confirm if he's being considered. Vesemir will star in an animated Witcher series that's set to stream on Netflix in the near future.

The second season of The Witcher is said to be more linear than the first, which will be a welcome change. In our 4/10 review for The Witcher, with critic Michael Rougeau saying, "Game fans who haven't read the books will be totally befuddled, and book readers will be scratching their heads just as frequently."