The Witcher’s Joey Batey has shared some insight into the upcoming season 3 of the Netflix fantasy hit. The actor, who plays Jaskier in the main show and the newly-released prequel The Witcher: Blood Origin, tells 12DOVE that he thinks the new episodes will be the strongest yet.
"For me when I first read the scripts, they were the best scripts that I think we've done so far," he tells us. "There are some things from the books that I think fans are going to really, really enjoy. And some really lovely key moments that are very epic. Jaskier also gets a little bit of a love interest – maybe more than one."
The Witcher season 3 will primarily adapt Andrzej Sapkowski’s book 'Time of Contempt', as well as including some key storylines from 'Blood of Elves' as well. It’s currently set for a summer 2023 release date on the streamer.
We last saw Jaskier in The Witcher season 2 finale being summoned by Dijkstra (Graham McTavish), leaving fans wondering if he had been working with the antagonist all along.
The Bard then returned for the Blood Origin prequel series, appearing is in the middle of a mysterious battle before he's told the story of "the Seven" by Minnie Driver's Seanchai. Batey confirmed that these scenes take place between the second and third seasons, but we'll have to wait until the show returns for more details on what exactly is going on with his character.
The upcoming third season of The Witcher will also mark the final appearance of Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia. He’s set to be replaced by Liam Hemsworth in the title role, which Batey reassured 12DOVE is an exciting change.
"I'm obviously gonna miss Henry a huge amount," he says. "Henry and I are very, very good pals and he has been the stalwart of the show, the gravity of the show, and the driving force of the show for four years now. And we get on very well, he's always the first to have a little laugh in the corner. So I'm going to, on a personal level, miss him.
"But Liam, I've already spoken to him a little bit. He is throwing himself into the deep end of this mythos and this canon with such power and grace and aplomb that I'm really excited to work with him and to see the kind of interpretation that he's going to bring together. I think it's exciting."
For more on The Witcher: Blood Origin, check out our explainers on:
- The Witcher: Blood Origin ending explained
- The Witcher: Blood Origin post-credits scene explained
- The Witcher: Blood Origin prophecy explained
- The latest on The Witcher: Blood Origin season 2
- The Witcher multiverse explained
- Where is Jaskier in The Witcher: Blood Origin?
- Sophie Brown on Elie's big finale prophecy
- Michelle Yeoh's stipulation about joining The Witcher: Blood Origin
