Basilisks. Ghouls. Kikimoras. Leshies. The list of monsters that Henry Cavill, in his role as The Witcher’s Geralt of Rivia, has battled is virtually endless. But when Cavill speaks about his final season on the series, it’s not a dragon’s lair that he invokes — it’s a “lion’s den.”

“Now, there is a real threat,” Cavill tells Tudum about Season 3 of the series, talking about the degree to which Ciri (Freya Allan) is now in peril. “It’s genuine; it’s no longer theoretical — it’s practical. And it’s very, very dangerous. They’re walking into the lion’s den everywhere they go.”

Premiering Volume 1 of its third season on June 29, The Witcher then returns with Volume 2 on July 27, and features Cavill’s final turn as Geralt of Rivia as he traverses the Continent alongside trusty bard Jaskier (Joey Batey) and volatile mage Yennefer of Vengerberg (Anya Chalotra). While this season promises monsters and magic for The Witcher’s heroes, they’re also fated to grapple with more threats — and feelings — than ever before. 

“In so many ways, Season 3 is the culmination of what we’ve been building toward all along,” showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich tells Tudum. “We get to see everything on the Continent change, which is super exciting.” 

Susie Allnutt/Netflix

War is here 

While there’s been no absence of death and destruction in the first two seasons of The Witcher, Season 3 raises the stakes even further. Competing factions are hunting for Ciri, who’s now acknowledged as being the most powerful being on the Continent — and therefore the most coveted. 

She’s also just a terrified teenage girl who also happens to be Geralt’s Child of Surprise, an orphaned princess who has closely bonded with the White Wolf and Yennefer. The trio has had no small amount of conflict between themselves, but they must now figure out how to protect one another, a mission that has ramifications that go far beyond their found family, and that can lead to an all-out war.

“War has been threatened for so long,” Batey tells Tudum. “Finally we’re like, ‘Oh, God. It’s here.’ The epicness, the stakes for the Continent, in the macro sense, is huge. But the micro stakes are even bigger.” 

In a world as brutal as the Continent, change rarely comes without violence. And that violence is now at the protagonists’ door as Emhyr var Emreis (Bart Edwards) is building his empire (and secretly Ciri’s father), elves are fighting for their freedom, mages are at each other’s throats and everyone is coming after Ciri, the girl with the Elder Blood. How does Geralt feel about all this?

“Geralt has been very nonchalant about these threats of war and famine and the end times,” Cavill says. “He’s like, ‘Look. I’ve been there, done that. It’s not the end times. It’s just going to be another fight.’ ” 

But now there are real stakes for him, “because everyone is after Ciri. That changes his entire perspective on things,” he says. 

Cavill, Batey, Chalotra and Allan showed up at Tudum: A Global Fan Event in Brazil to give viewers a peek into the battle ahead. After regaling fans with memories of filming his final season and thanking them for their support, Cavill introduced a Season 3 clip. In the video, we see the Continent’s warring factions converge for one epic fight. During the melee, Geralt goes face-to-face with the terrifying fire mage Rience (Sam Woolf).

Still, Geralt is sticking to his guns — or rather, swords — on one topic: his neutrality. “It’s still very much intact,” Cavill explains. “Geralt has seen how politics work out. A lot of it’s incredibly selfish. No matter which side anyone’s on, they’re doing the thing for them. He’s like, ‘Why would I pick a side when the same thing’s going to happen?’” 

After all, “people are the real monsters,” Batey says. “There’s something quite Batman-like about it,” he adds, “being above the political machinations of the world.”

But will some new power players in The Witcher manage to sway Geralt away from his neutrality? “[The political atmosphere] is so different and so tense [this season],” says Batey, adding that it’s “fairly representative of what happens in the text.” He’s referring to Andrzej Sapkowski‘s The Time of Contempt, and says that he can’t wait for fans to get to know Sigismund Dijkstra (Graham McTavish) and Philippa Eilhart (Cassie Clare), the Redanian spy master and mage who first popped up in the Season 2 finale. 

“The chemistry between them, the dynamic, the constant shifting machinations of the political movements are fascinating,” Batey says. “I can’t take my eyes off of Cassie and the vulnerability and the power that she wields.” 

Susie Allnutt/Netflix

A family worth fighting for 

While bloody battles and ingenious political coups are always tantalizing, the heart of Season 3 beats for the family at its center. “What I think is really fun about this season is you get Geralt, Ciri and Yen — they’re linked by destiny. We’ve said that from the very beginning,” Schmidt Hissrich says. “Yet clearly, by this point, they want to be together. And so that’s more than destiny. Suddenly that’s a choice.” 

The choice makes everything all the more precarious for Geralt, Ciri and Yen since they finally have something important to lose. Ciri, for one, is painfully aware of how quickly her latest family can vanish before her eyes. 

“A big part of her journey is trusting that they love her and trusting that they care for her,” Allan tells Tudum about Ciri. 

This might not be the easiest thing for Ciri to do with Yennefer, who almost sacrificed Ciri to an ancient evil at the end of Season 2. “People don’t always make the right choices. But ultimately, I think everyone knows [Yen]’s good at the core,” Allan says. “They have such similarities that I think Ciri can’t help but latch onto Yennefer… Also, through Yennefer teaching Ciri, they do begin to build that trust up.” 

Chalotra agrees that Yennefer has “got a lot of work to do.” But, she says, “I believe in her.” 

And what about Geralt? When Yennefer went after Ciri, he also felt betrayed. While Schmidt Hissrich says that the writers room considered starting the season off with “a big fat kiss” between Geralt and Yennefer, she says that it ultimately felt “inauthentic.” 

“We talked about: What has to happen for Geralt to trust Yen again?” Schmidt Hissrich says. 

Instead of bonding them through physical attraction — really just plain lust — as had been done in the past, “they get to come together as partners. Since it’s not just about them anymore,” Schmidt Hissrich says. “It becomes more than romance. It also becomes about soulmates.” 

Chalotra lights up at the idea of Yennefer and Geralt as soulmates. “One thing that they can’t deny is their history and the connection that’s inescapable,” she says. “They’re pulled towards each other, but more important than that, they need each other.” 

That’s why, Schmidt Hissrich says, the core theme of Season 3 is: “Family is worth fighting for.” 

There’s no good and evil, only a lot of gray

Someone — or let’s be honest, many someones — are determined to tear these soulmates apart from one another. But even the most reprehensible among them have more complicated motives than might meet the eye. 

“The biggest danger is that there are no good guys or bad guys. Villains believe that they’re doing the things that are best for them, their people, their land,” Schmidt Hissrich says. Take Emhyr, for example: “This guy has been presented as just an absolute zealot. A harsh and terrible ruler. But suddenly you realize what he wants is his daughter back. I’ve just said family’s worth fighting for. So isn’t he kind of doing the same thing?” 

But Emhyr isn’t the only threat on the Continent. Schmidt Hissrich teases the presence of another malevolent presence lurking in the shadows of the Continent.

“Our villain has been playing a very long game. Decades,” Schmidt Hissrich says. In fact, the Witcher team has been working toward this big reveal since day 1. At last, Schmidt Hissrich promises, prior scenes or decisions that may have seemed “out of character” in the moment will start to become clear. And it’s not just audiences who are in for a surprise.

“What I love, too, is that Geralt and Yen are putting together this mystery of who their ultimate villain is,” she says. 

Monsters ahead 

Beyond the metaphorical monsters in The Witcher, there are also no small amount of literal monsters. While we’ve watched Geralt stab his way through many a monster fight, in Season 3, Ciri is also going all in on the family business. 

“The thing that makes her happy is fighting with Geralt,” Allan says, “and getting to be a witcher — even though she’s not technically a witcher, she likes to pretend she’s a witcher.” 

As for Cavill, he sounds like a proud dad, reminiscing about watching Allan perform her monster-fighting choreography. “You’ll see Geralt is correcting her errors,” he says. “When she exposes herself, he will protect her, but otherwise he’s letting her do the fight.”

Geralt — a lone wolf no more 

Prepare to meet Geralt, the family man. “By the time we get to Season 3, it’s Geralt going, ‘Oh, this is why I was put on this earth,’ ” Batey says.

Geralt takes to fatherhood “like a fish to water,” says Cavill. “It’s quite lovely to see that underneath this cynical, acerbic, walls-up kind of nature is actually a very loving core.” Those big feelings also apply to Yennefer, whom Geralt has shared a “hot and cold” connection with for decades. 

“With Yennefer, it becomes a love rather than a dalliance,” he says. In fact, Chalotra says, “They’re stronger now. Stronger now than ever before.” 

Still, don’t expect Geralt to slip on some New Balance sneakers or start mowing a lawn. The White Wolf is still the Witcher we’ve all come to love. In fact, Cavill shot three different fight scenes in a single day during production.

Ciri grows up

When we met Ciri back in Season 1, she was just a little girl (albeit one who lost everything in a single night). But, in Season 3, she’s on the cusp of true adulthood. 

“It’s a really emotional journey for Ciri and her development,” Allan says. “At the beginning of that season, she still feels like a young teenager and by the end, she does really seem like she’s grown up.” 

It’s a natural evolution, as Ciri steps into her monster-fighting power with Geralt and starts to learn how to “rein in” the overwhelming magic inside of her through lessons with Yennefer. One of those tasks is going better than the other. 

“Ciri does want to be able to learn the magic. She’s [just] beginning to get frustrated because she feels so hopeless at it,” Allan continues. “She doubts herself in every way actually.” 

While Allan calls that underlying insecurity “sad,” it’s also relatable for anyone who’s ever been a teenager, which is exactly what the Witcher writers were going for. “We are constantly playing the push and pull of what it is to be a teenager,” Schmidt Hissrich says. 

“Who wouldn’t like being told that you’re the most powerful being that ever existed? And you have powers that no one can comprehend? And you have the ability to change the world or destroy the world?” Schmidt Hissrich asks. “That makes you feel pretty good probably at points. And then probably makes you feel pretty terrible. That’s a lot of weight for anyone to carry.”

Yennefer, a different kind of mother 

In Season 1 of The Witcher, Yennefer mourns her inability to bear children after undergoing the enchantment procedure that made her a mage. In Season 3, she finally sees her maternal dreams realized as she steps firmly into a nurturing role with Ciri. 

“She’s struck by this newfound family. She always wanted to become a mother,” Chalotra says. But it’s not without its complications. After all, Yennefer doesn’t have many purely positive role models for the position. Still, says Chalotra, “Yennefer and Ciri is altogether something new. These feelings towards her are deep and strong, and come as a surprise. She went into this relationship for herself and in it found a purpose beyond anything she’s set her heart on before. She cares deeply about something bigger than herself for the first time.”

This new outlook pushes Yennefer to another level of political awareness — and the ability to compromise with friends and foes in ways she’d never thought possible. “The Continent isn’t safe for anyone, least of all Ciri. Without nurturing Ciri’s chaos and helping her understand something Yen has learnt the hard way, Ciri will not survive what’s coming for her,” Charlotra says. “Yennefer puts Ciri first and in doing so, she’s able to persuade people she once hated or charm anyone who gets in the way of protecting Ciri. Compromise is a keyword, actually. She learns how to do that this season.”

All of Yennefer’s growth also pulls her and Geralt closer. “I love acting with Henry. He’s so driven and passionate about playing Geralt,” Chalotra says. “Yennefer and Geralt have no choice but to work together for once. It makes a change.” 

Susie Allnutt/Netflix

Uncle Jaskier’s “hot girl summer”

Jaskier is “flourishing” this season, according to Batey. While fans have long heard about his many conquests, this time it’s different — it’s a real “show, don’t tell” moment. 

“Jaskier falls in love,” Schmidt Hissrich reveals. “And it’s with a character who fans will know [and] continues showing up in the books. So what happens this season between them will have ripple effects for a very long time.” 

Batey relished digging into Jaskier’s new love story. “He’s having his hot girl summer,” Batey jokes. “It’s been really rewarding to see [his love life] told in a very visual way. [We] ensured that these romances are told truthfully — and sensitively and carefully, without resorting to stereotypes… Hopefully we’ve created something that is special, a sapioromantic and sapiosexual [connection] that is as flawed as any other relationship in this show.” 

One other element in Jaskier’s life may just complicate his newfound love. As he’s “falling into an uncle role” for Ciri alongside parental figures Geralt and Yennefer, Jaskier is also pulled into the political machinations of the Continent.  

“He’s certainly a man of many trades, but I’m not sure he’s inherently built to be a spy,” Batey says. “Yet he’s found himself in a time of war, in turmoil, and is trying to do his best to do something good.” 

So toss a coin to this bard — and the rest of his Witcher family — when Season 3, Volume 1 premieres June 29. 

Additional reporting by Jean Bentley. 

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