June 22, 2020 The Witcher Twitter account has confirmed production on Season 2 will resume in August.
Earlier this year, production on The Witcher Season 2 was delayed following the outbreak of COVID-19 around the world. However, Netflix now has some good news to share with fans of the show – production of its second series will resume in the not-too-distant future, on August 17.
That’s according to a tweet posted on the Netflix show’s official Twitter channel, which announces the news in the form of a poem Dandelion – sorry, Jaskier – would be proud of (and it seems, is behind the little composition). It reads, “I’m dusting off my lute and quill, / I have some news, some mead to spill: / After all the months we’ve been apart / It’s time for production to restart. / The Witcher and his bard – who’s flawless, / Will reunite on set 17 August.”
This follows recent news that producers for big film and “high-end” series titles being filmed in the UK have been given the green light to kickstart production again, following the government and health bodies’ approval of some new safety guidelines.
A recent report by The Guardian (via Redanian Intelligence) listed major productions like The Batman (the one with Robert Pattinson) and the third Fantastic Beasts flick as titles that could potentially resume filming soon, along with Netflix’s The Witcher series and Disney’s live-action The Little Mermaid, with their production also based in the UK. The Witcher was in production at Arborfield Studios in the UK before it was halted earlier this year.
I’m dusting off my lute and quill,
I have some news, some mead to spill:
After all the months we’ve been apart
It’s time for production to restart.
The Witcher and his bard – who’s flawless,
Will reunite on set 17 August.— The Witcher (@witchernetflix) June 22, 2020
According to the site, the new safety rules have been put together jointly by the British Film Institute and British Film Commission, and lay out guidelines about areas such as safety training, physical distancing, and temperature tests. The set of guidelines has now been approved by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), Public Health England, and the Health and Safety Executive.
Until today, it wasn’t clear exactly when production would resume, but following the report, Deadline reported Arborfield Studio’s managing director, Bob Terry, said there was work underway to get the site re-opened, and there would be meetings over the following two weeks to get safety procedures in place at the studio.
It’s not clear to what extent the delay will impact the Season2 release date, which was originally slated for a vague 2021 launch. In the meantime, however, The Witcher 3 recently celebrated its fifth – yes, fifth birthday – so now might be a good chance to go get stuck into some of long reads on one of the best RPG games (heck, best PC games) of all time. We have just the things: take a look at The Witcher 3 through the lens of horticulture, tracing the fairy tales and myths behind The Witcher 3’s unsettling Crones, and why Ciri would be a great lead for The Witcher 4, too.