The Witcher season 3: Cast, plot and trailer as volume 2 hits Netflix

It’s all change when The Witcher returns for its third season, which is available to view in its entirety on Netflix right now.

The latest outing of Netflix’s popular TV show adaptation of the equally-popular video game and novel series of the same name has officially been released into the wild, ready to encounter fans head-on

This time, the action is split into two volumes which together will mark star Henry Cavill's final adventure as Geralt of Rivia before Liam Hemsworth takes over the same role for the show’s fourth outing.

By the looks of it, fans can expect to find Geralt in a dark place, surrounded by evil magic as he attempts to protect Freya Allan’s Crown Princess of Cintri from as-yet-unseen shadowy forces.

Read more: The Witcher season 3 volume 1 review

Now that both parts of Cavill's last series are finally here, what better time to refresh our Witcher knowledge? So here’s all we know about The Witcher season three, including its dual release dates, plot, cast, trailers and more.

The Witcher season 3 release date

The Witcher’s third batch of eight episodes will be split into two volumes, both of which are out now.

The first became available to watch following its debut on Thursday, 29 June, while the second was released onto the streamer a month later on Thursday, 27 July.

The Witcher recap and season 3 plot

With an official synopsis released earlier this year, fans are eagerly awaiting The Witcher’s return - but what do you need to know to get caught up? Reader beware: spoilers for The Witcher follow from here on out.

Released in 2019, season one was based loosely on The Last Wish and Sword of Destiny, two collections of short stories by fantasy writer and Witcher mastermind, Andrzej Sapkowski, that preceded the primary Witcher saga storyline.

Throughout eight episodes, we meet Geralt of Rivia, a fearless monster hunter who, through a series of battles and betrayals, makes his way to Ciri (Allan), a Queen with mythical ‘elder blood.’

Linked by destiny, the pair continue their journey through the show’s eight-episode second series which was based on Sapkowski’s Book of Elves and released on Netflix in late 2021. Here, we find Geralt protecting Ciri from a host of enemies determined to use her ancient powers for evil.

Cut to season three and according to the show’s official synopsis, we’ll find the pair at a similarly precarious point in their journey while Geralt is forced to drop his warrior identity for a moment to confront some long-buried feelings.

“As monarchs, mages and beasts of the Continent compete to capture her, Geralt takes Ciri of Cintra into hiding, determined to protect his newly reunited family against those who threaten to destroy it," says the description of the new series.

Read more: Why is Henry Cavill leaving The Witcher?

“Entrusted with Ciri’s magical training, Yennefer leads them to the protected fortress of Aretuza, where she hopes to discover more about the girl’s untapped powers; instead, they discover they’ve landed in a battlefield of political corruption, dark magic and treachery. They must fight back, put everything on the line — or risk losing each other forever.”

Consisting of eight episodes split into two separate volumes, The Witcher season three is again based on another Sapkowski novel, this time taking its cues from Time of Contempt.

Series producer Lauren Schmidt Hissrich shed some more light on what’s in store in the White Wolf’s future.

“For years, Geralt has claimed neutrality, shunned politics and publicly asserted that witchers don’t have emotions - all to make his life as a killer easier to navigate. We’ve seen him battle monsters and monstrous humans; we’ve watched as he’s hardened himself in order to survive. This season, he can no longer do that,” she said via a Netflix press release.

“He can’t pretend that he doesn’t feel. He can’t pretend that he’s impenetrable,” she adds, “because, despite the ups and downs of last season and the trust that has to be rebuilt, he’s realized that Yennefer and Ciri are his destiny, his family and the loves of his life.

"This is the foundation of his journey for the rest of his life - and the rest of this show.”

The Witcher season 3 cast

Former Superman Cavill will return as Geralt in this new Witcher quest but it’ll be his last time donning his sleek silver wig with The Hunger Games star Liam Hemsworth due to inherit the role.

In October 2022, the Man of Steel star said he would hang up his sword and shield amid the news that he would be returning to the role of Kal-El for the first time since 2017’s Justice League two-parter following a brief cameo appearance during Black Adam’s end credits.

Unfortunately, this news was squashed before it had time to begin after a DCU shake-up saw Suicide Squad director James Gunn reboot the studio and Superman with his own take on the character.

As it stands, Cavill will no longer play the role, with Gunn recasting the Last Son of Krypton for his new origin story, Superman: Legacy, which is currently in pre-production. As a result, Hemsworth will become our new Geralt from season four onwards.

However, we have a whole season to go before that happens and Cavill departs. Until then, he’ll be joined once more by Allan as Ciri and Anya Chalotra as part-elf sorceress Yennefer of Vengerberg.

Joey Batey’s Jaskier, Eamon Farren’s Black Knight, Mimi Ndiweni’s Fringilla Vigo, MyAnna Buring’s Tissaia de Vries, Tom Canton’s Filavandrel and Wilson Mbomio’s Dara are also all set to return.

The Witcher season 3 trailer and poster

You’re in luck. The Witcher’s official Twitter account unveiled both a poster and a first-look trailer for the show’s third season in late April, inviting us once again into this dark world.

Shrouded in shadows, we find Geralt confronting his own turmoil as he drinks a mystery liquid that turns his eyes an inky, evil black. “Now, for the first time, I understand real fear,” he utters before we’re plunged into fantasy action.

A full-length trailer for The Witcher was released by Netflix on Thursday, 8 June which teased what viewers can expect from Geralt, Ciri and Yennefer this time around.

Volumes one and two of The Witcher season three are available to watch now on Netflix.