Like so many other productions which had to be shut down unceremoniously in March, The Witcher has had a bit of a rough go this year. What we were all at first hoping would only be few months of being locked inside our homes and unable to resume walking about the world as normal quickly turned into months of quarantine as we figured out best practices when getting back to work. Now, though, it's time to praise whatever gods they worship on the Continent, because The Witcher is finally filming Season 2 again!
The Witcher was only a couple of weeks into production on Season 2 when everything came to a screeching halt. And, while the show's casting director has been able to make good use of the extra time (not to mention star Henry Cavill's judicious use of the break in filming to paint figurines, prepare assorted foodstuffs and send the internet into a tizzy by building his own computer) we do know that they're finally back at work thanks to an Instagram post from director Stephen Surjik. He gave fans a look at some of the behind the scenes safety precautions, and announced that the fantasy hit was up and running once more:
Ooooh, while we don't specifically know what they were about to shoot from looking at this photo of some, apparently, new equipment on the set of The Witcher, at least they have gotten underway. According to Stephen Surjik, even though everyone in the production now has to be super careful to abide by all of the recently implemented safety protocols, the whole team seems to be feeling good about being able to get back to work after the long break.
Surjik made sure to say special thanks to several members of the cast and crew, including actor Kristofer Hivju, who'll be taking on the new role of the beastly Nivellen for the series. As you may remember, it was shortly after production on The Witcher shut down earlier this year that Hivju came out and revealed that he had, in fact, been diagnosed with COVID-19. The small stroke of luck was that most of the cast and crew had already been sent home, so all the show had to do was close production offices, so that the entirety of the filming area at Arborfield Studios, where the series shoots, could be properly disinfected.
As Surjik noted, this monitor is helping the crew keep in touch and abreast of all the goings on with filming so that they don't have to come into close contact with one another, but this isn't the first time we've gotten a look at what the drama is doing to keep everyone as safe as possible. It was just last week that both Surjik and showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich posted behind the scenes shots from the set, which showed that The Witcher was getting back to it, and that they were wearing masks, face shields and sitting very far apart with clear barriers in between them while watching monitors.
While it was originally thought that filming wouldn't be able to start up again August 17, it appears that the team behind The Witcher were quick on their feet in being able to reassemble and put new safety features in place so that things could get going a bit ahead of schedule. And, that's good news for fans as well as everyone involved.
Obviously, we don't have a confirmed premiere date for Season 2 of The Witcher just yet, so stay tuned to CinemaBlend for the latest. If you're looking to something new to watch in the coming weeks, be sure to check out our guide to fall TV!
