The third season of The Witcher has finally arrived on Netflix, but in a different way than some viewers expected. Premiering nearly 18 months after the second season (and six months after the prequel The Witcher: Blood Origin) season 3 of The Witcher is the latest Netflix hit to get a two-part release, following the most recent seasons of Stranger Things and You. This means that Thursday's release is comprised of a quick five episodes, and ends with a major cliffhanger that will be resolved once volume 2 of The Witcher season 3 drops in several weeks.
When will 'The Witcher' season 3, volume 2 come out?
The next set of episodes will be released on Netflix on July 27, 2023, arriving four weeks after volume 1's five episodes. This follows the pattern set by both Stranger Things season 4 and You season 4. We can actually credit the two-part Witcher drop to the Stranger Things split, as executive producer Steve Gaub said the fantasy epic's team got the idea to break up the episodes during production, when they realized that the season had a natural midpoint that would make two volumes work well.
"That came up during the edit," Gaub told The Verge. "That wasn’t written into the script; it wasn’t known when we were shooting. However, we did know what the season was, and there is a significant pivot point. And whilst we were in production, Stranger Things had come out, and they had split their season. And it was like, 'well, that’s intriguing.'"
How many episodes is 'The Witcher' season 3, volume 2?
Volume 2 will have three episodes, meaning season 3 will follow the show's usual eight-episode seasons. However, we don't know yet how long those installments will be. The second part of Stranger Things season 4 included extended, feature-length episodes, and The Witcher team may want season 3 to end with a bang since these will be the final episodes with Henry Cavill as Geralt.
What will 'The Witcher' season 3, volume 2 be about?
Volume 2 will deal with the apex and fallout of all the political maneuvering and backstabbing that built up during the events of volume 1. For book fans, season 3 is inspired by the second novel in Andrzej Sapkowski’s Witcher book series, Time of Contempt, so it's likely the remainder of the season will follow the book's arc.
Will Henry Cavill return for 'The Witcher' season 3, volume 2?
Cavill, who has played the titular Witcher, Geralt of Rivia, will continue his role in the second part of season 3. However, that'll be the last set of episodes starring Cavill, as Netflix has confirmed that Liam Hemsworth will play Geralt starting in season 4. For anyone who missed the news, a quick recap: in October 2022, Cavill announced that he would return to the DC cinematic universe as Superman, after making a post-credits appearance in Black Adam. Days later, Netflix confirmed the show's season 4 renewal, along with the news that Cavill was stepping down from the role.
However, two months later, Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn was announced as the new co-CEO of DC Studios, and the company chose to reboot Superman rather than bringing Cavill back (the new Clark Kent will be portrayed by The Politician actor David Corenswet). Following this news, Netflix confirmed that Cavill will still make his Witcher exit in the season 3 finale.
