When is The Witcher season 3 releasing on Netflix? In short: not for a few more months. But, with January out of the way, we're a step closer to its arrival.

The popular Netflix fantasy series returns in mid-2023, so it's high time for you to read up on everything worth knowing about it. Below, we've rounded up the biggest news we can find on The Witcher's third season, including its possible story beats, cast developments, one of the best Netflix shows' future, and more.

Full spoilers follow for The Witcher season 2. Potential spoilers for The Witcher season 3 and Andrzej Sapkowski's novels are also discussed, so proceed with caution if you're avoiding them pre-release.

The Witcher season 3 release date: what we know

The Witcher season 3 doesn't have an official release date, but a mid-2023 release window was announced at Tudum 2022.

The reveal came two weeks after showrunner Lauren S. Hissrich confirmed principal photography had wrapped and nine months after Hissrich exclusively told TechRadar that season 3's scripts were almost complete.

Mid-2023 could mean it'll be released anytime between June and September. With a lengthy post-production phase expected, too, we'd be surprised if lands before August.

Even then, we might only get the first batch of episodes. Hissrich told Collider that Netflix “wouldn't rule” out the prospect of splitting the third season into two parts, which has happened to other Netflix shows, such as Stranger Things season 4. If The Witcher season 3's second half needs more development time, we could see it released in two volumes.

Interestingly, in the same Collider article, Hissrich appeared to let an official launch month slip, saying: “We have a way still [to go], a very long time, eight-ish months or so until The Witcher season 3 comes out”. Collider's article went live in December 2022, so that “eight-ish months” comment would put season 3 coming out in August (as we speculated).

The Witcher season 3 cast

Here's The Witcher season 3's likely cast:

• Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia 
• Freya Allen as Princess Cirilla of Cintra 
• Anya Chalotra as Yennefer of Vengerberg 
• Joey Batey as Jaskier 
• Eamon Farren as Cahir 
• MyAnna Buring as Tissaia de Vries 
• Mimî M. Khayisa as Fringilla Vigo 
• Royce Pierreson as Istredd 
• Anna Shaffer as Triss Merigold 
• Mahesh Jadu as Vilgefortz 
• Tom Canton as Filavandrel 
• Mecia Simson as Francesca Findabair 
• Lars Mikkelsen as Stregobor 
• Terence Maynard as Artorius Vigo 
• Graham McTavish as Sigismund Dijkstra 
• Ed Birch as King Vizimir of Redania 
• Sam Woolf as Rience 
• Aisha Fabienne Ross as Lydia van Bredevoort 
• Cassie Clare as Philippa Einhart 
• Wilson Mbomio as Dara 
• Bart Edwards as Duny/Emperor Emhyr, aka The White Flame of Nilfgaard 
• Meng’er Zhang as Milva
• Robbie Amell as Gallatin
• Hugh Skinner as Prince Radovid
• Christelle Elwin as Mistelle

Many of the above have played significant roles in the show, but those who haven’t should have expanded roles.

Emperor Emhyr definitely will. The season 2 finale revealed Duny – the knight Geralt saved in season 1 and who is also Ciri’s father – is not only still alive, but he’s the leader (aka The White Flame) of Nilfgaard’s forces. And he wants to be reunited with Ciri, so he can use her abilities for evil.

We expect Philippa Einhart to feature more regularly. She featured in season 2 but, based on what we know of her book counterpart, she has a bigger role to play. That extends to King Vizimir and Sigismund Dijkstra, too, with the kingdom of Redania becoming more prominent as Andrzej Sapkowski's book series unfolds.

Other season 2 newcomers, including Adjoa Andoh’s Nenneke, Simon Callow’s Codringher, Liz Carr’s Fenn, Kaine Zajaz’s Gage and Sam Hazeldine’s Eredin/King of the Wild Hunt, may also be back. Until we hear more, though, we've left out out of the above list.

Meanwhile, four actors were officially added to the ever-expanding roster in April 2022. They include Shang-Chi's Meng'er Zhang and Upload's Robbie Amell, and you can read more about this quartet's charactersy in our cast update explainer.

Potential season 3 cast spoilers follow.

Redanian Intelligence has claimed 10 other actors – two in one article, six in another, and two more in separate news stories – have been cast. Netflix hasn't confirmed these hires, but we've listed them as their characters may be of interest to diehard Witcher fans:

• Stuart Thompson as Fabio Sachs
• Jim Sturgeon as Applegatt, a royal messenger of King Demavend of Aedirn
• Ryan Hayes as Artaud Terranova, a mage who participates in the Thanedd Coup
• Josh Weller as Valdo Marx, a bard rival of Joey Batey’s Jaskier
• Kate Winter as Putney
• Martyn Ellis as Barker
• Michalina Olszanska as TBC
• Sean Cernow as TBC
• Harvey Quinn as TBC
• Poppy Almond as TBC

Another Redanian Intelligence leak claims The Rings of Power season 1's Fabian McCallum will play Kayleigh, a member of the teenage misfit gang known as The Rats. Redanian Intelligence has suggested Hiftu Quasem (Killing Eve) has joined the cast as iconic character Falka, too.

Kim Bodnia’s Vesemir and other Witchers including Coën (Yasen Atour) and Lambert (Paul Bullion) might not be back. That’s based on Geralt, Yennefer and Ciri leaving Kaer Morhen stronghold in the season 2 finale. Unless Geralt and company return, Vesemir and company aren’t likely to be back. Netflix’s Witcher series has diverged slightly from its source material, though, so maybe we'll see Vesemir and company again.

Two actors who aren't returning are Blair Kincaid and Chris Fulton, who played Crach an Craite and Rience in season 1 and season 2 respectively. Per Redanian Intelligence, Fulton has been replaced by Sam Woolf (The Crown, Humans). Meanwhile, Vikings Valhalla star Johannes Haukur Johannesson has reportedly been cast as Crach for season 3 (via Redanian Intelligence).

Elsewhere, two Blood Origin actors – Minnie Driver and Samuel Blenkin – could appear in the main show. Driver's Seanchai is a shape-shifting time traveler, so she might show up. Meanwhile, Blenkin's Avallac'h was revealed as the individual Ciri spots in that doorway in the first season. Avallac'h appears in the final two books, but Netflix's Witcher adaptation has played loose and fast with the novels before, so he could be shoehorned into The Witcher season 3.

Finally, there are plenty of characters from the books who could be introduced. According to Redanian Intelligence, a new villain known as The Professor, may play a supporting role. Redanian Intelligence also claims that Safiyya Ingar (Summer of Rockets, Faith) has been cast in an undisclosed role.

The Witcher season 3 plot

Major spoilers follow for The Witcher TV series and novels.

Little is known about The Witcher season 3’s plot, but Netflix has released a brief plot synopsis:

In December 2021, Hissrich told TechRadar The Witcher season 3 will be based on the second main novel – i.e. The Time of Contempt, so maybe we'll see less in the way of plot diversions.

Or will we? Chatting with Collider, Hissrich reaffirmed her desire to stick closely to the books, but this season will incorporate plot points from others in the series. Hissrich told Collider that a “big story from Blood of Elves”, the first novel in The Witcher saga, will form part of the third season’s overarching narrative. 

Elsewhere, The Wild Hunt won't feature more prominently – Hissrich telling Entertainment Weekly (EW): “We all know that, eventually, Geralt is going to learn a little bit more about the Wild Hunt, as will Ciri, but right now it stays this ever-looming threat to her. One of the things that I love in the books that [author Andrzej] Sapkowski did beautifully is he teases the Wild Hunt for so long. They pop up, then they go away for a while. So we are definitely sticking to that school.”

Potential plot spoilers follow from now on.

There are only two major Blood of Elves book-based storylines not included in season 2. The first concerns the Scoia’tael, a group of non-human guerillas who fight for Nilfgaard and attack Geralt, Ciri, Triss, and Yarpen Zigrin’s dwarven contingent. Hissrich confirmed the Scoia’tael will be part of season 3.

The second is far more important. It relates to Geralt telling Ciri about the roses of Aelirenn, an elf who led the last band of their kin against an invading human army. Aelirenn’s forces were massacred by their foes and, given that only young elves can produce offspring, the demise of Aelirenn’s forces inadvertently led to the elves’ slow march towards extinction. Expect this to tie back into events concerning Francesca and her murdered elven baby in season 2.

Speaking of maternal relationships, Anya Chalotra, who plays Yennefer, wants to see more of the dynamic between her character and Ciri from the novels. Talking to Glamour, Chalotra said: “[I want to see] everything that happens in the book where she gets to develop a mother-daughter relationship with Ciri. She also calms down a bit and she realizes she is enough.”

In terms of Sapkowski's version of The Time of Contempt, what can we expect from The Witcher season 3? For one, we'll see three iconic sequences play out – two concerning Ciri and one involving Geralt.

In Geralt's case, Redanian Intelligence says the thrilling battle between Geralt and Vilgefortz is part of proceedings. The same website claims Ciri will be involved in two moments pulled straight out of the books – the first involving Wyverns, which might see her rescue Fabio Sachs, while the second sees her lost in the Korath Desert. Established Witcher fans will know all about the importance of this latter sequence.

Redanian Intelligence has also suggested we'll see two other major events play out in The Witcher season 3 – an elegant ball attended by numerous mages (and Geralt), and the Thanedd Coup, which sees mages loyal to Nilfgaard and the North clash in a bloody battle that costs many lives. This ties into the Geralt and Vilgefortz fight we mentioned above.

Away from the action, Jaskier could become as popular with the ladies (and guys) as Geralt is. Speaking to Total Film, actor Joey Batey teased: “Jaskier gets a little bit of a love interest – maybe more than one.”

The Witcher season 3 trailer

Unfortunately, no trailer has been released yet. Once one is, we’ll update this section. 

The Witcher season 3: future seasons and spin-offs

Netflix renewed The Witcher for a fourth season in October 2022. However, Redanian Intelligence says writing has begun on seasons 4 and 5, so we could get two more seasons at least. Previously, Hissrich told Collider she’s mapped out a seven-season arc, but her plan depends on whether people continue to tune into the series.

However, Cavill isn't returning after The Witcher season 3. Announced alongside the season 4 renewal, Netflix revealed Liam Hemsworth will take over for season 4 onwards. No official reason has been given about Cavill's departure, but Redanian Intelligence suggests Cavill didn't agree with Hissrich and company making plot deviations from the books.

Speaking exclusively to TechRadar, Hissrich said she “fully understands” fans' ire over Cavill leaving, but hoped they would continue watching. Elaborating to EW, Hissrich said Cavill's Geralt will get a “heroic sendoff”, before confirming to NME that she'll talk more about the situation post-season 3.

Spin-off wise, The Witcher: Blood Origin prequel series covered the story of the first Witcher's creation and finally introduced audiences to key character Avallac'h. Blood Origin also followed events leading up to and during the Conjunction of the Spheres, the cataclysm that results in the collision of multiple universes and their human, elven, and monstrous races. Meanwhile, Minnie Driver wants Seanchai to cross over into the main series and hang out with Geralt.

Other spin-offs currently in development include a family-friendly animated series and a second anime movie, which were announced at Netflix Tudum 2021. Meanwhile, Redanian Intelligence claims a a spin-off involving other Witchers could be in the works, while another Redanian Intelligence article claims a spin-off of The Rats is in early development.

For more Witcher-based content, check out these five bloody fantasy shows while we wait for its third season. Alternatively, find out how to read The Witcher books in order.