The first extended clip for The Witcher season 3 has been released online, and it seems everyone's favorite trio of heroes will see their fair share of action when the hit show returns.
Released during Tudum 2023, the latest installment of Netflix's global fan event, the two-minute-long video pits Geralt, Ciri, and Yennefer against the fire-wielding Rience and other elves who have come to kidnap Ciri for their own nefarious means.
Unsurprisingly, Geralt and Yennefer won't give up Ciri without a fight. And, after undergoing all that training at Kaer Morhen in The Witcher season 2, Ciri won't simply let Rience and company take her back to Redania, or the elves to one of their few strongholds.
Take a look at the first graphically violent footage from The Witcher's next season below:
Fans familiar with Andrzek Sapkoswki's high fantasy book series will immediately recognize the location that Geralt, Ciri, and Yennefer (with a little help from Yarpen Zigrin's traveling dwarf continent) face their foes down in.
For the uninitiated: it's Shaerraward, an ancient elven palace that's fallen into disrepair. During the height of the elven empire, however, it was ruled by the family of infamous elf Aelirenn, who led the elves' final (and unsuccessful) last fight against the encroaching humans in the 1060s. Remember, humans only arrived on The Continent when the Conjunction of the Spheres, a cataclysmic event that affected the multiverse and trapped humans and monsters in this realm, which was brought to life in The Witcher: Blood Origin miniseries on Netflix in December 2022.
The Witcher's second season, which was based on the first of Sapkowski's novels – 'Blood of Elves' – didn't cover Aelirenn's backstory (otherwise known as the roses of Aelirenn). The forthcoming season, then, will include that vital storyline to reveal more about Ciri's heritage, which casual Witcher fans will need to know more about moving forward.
Regardless, viewers can look forward to more in the way of bloodthirsty and magical battles in The Witcher's next outing. If they're all as well choreographed as the footage above, we'll be in for a real treat when season 3 part 1 debuts on Netflix on June 29. Why only part 1? Because The Witcher season 3 is being split into two parts, with the second batch of episodes landing a month later on July 27.
You better make the most of its eight episodes, too, as this is the final time we'll see Henry Cavill portray Geralt of Rivia in one of the best Netflix shows. As we reported in October 2022, Cavill won't be back for The Witcher season 4 for as-yet-revealed reasons. He's being replaced by Liam Hemsworth (The Hunger Games), and showrunner Lauren Hissrich has already said she "fully understands" why fans are concerned about Cavill's impending departure.
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And, if you're looking for more Tudum 2023-based news, check out our story on 3 Body Problem, a new mind-bending sci-fi series from those behind Game of Thrones' TV adaptation.
