While there was never any doubt that Henry Cavill would return as Geralt of Rivia in The Witcher season 2, alongside Anya Chalotra as the sorceress Yennefer and Freya Allan as the mysterious Princess Ciri, the return of the beloved bard Jaskier was far from certain. Fortunately, since season 1 ended it's been confirmed that Joey Batey will return as Jaskier in The Witcher season 2. But since the "humble bard" doesn't age like a witcher or a sorceress, he may look a little different.
A host of new cast members were also announced for The Witcher season 2, including Game of Thrones’ Kristofer Hivju as the cursed Nivellen, and Yasen Atour, Paul Bullion and Thue Ersted Rasmussen as Geralt’s brothers-in-arms and fellow witchers. Killing Eve actor Kim Bodnia was also cast as Vesemir, another witcher and father figure to Geralt, which suggests that season 2 will reveal more of Geralt’s past and explore witcher mythology. The same announcement revealed that Batey would indeed be reprising his role as the fan-favorite Jaskier in The Witcher’s upcoming season.
Jaskier, who is also known as Dandelion in the translated short stories and The Witcher video game, is first introduced in the season’s second episode, “Four Marks.” Meeting Geralt by chance and realizing that he's a witcher, Jaskier decides to accompany him on his hunt to kill a monster. He offers his services to help improve Geralt’s image, arguing that songs of Geralt’s exploits could transform his current reputation as the Butcher of Blaviken and instead paint him as a hero. The two develop an unlikely friendship, crossing paths on multiple occasions over the years, saving each other’s life more than once, and even travelling together in search of a dragon.
Jaskier became very popular with viewers, due in part to his much-praised performance of “Toss a Coin to Your Witcher.” The song became an overnight sensation, and is still one of the things people most associate with Netflix’s The Witcher. With his return in season 2 confirmed, there is hope that Jaskier may write another hit or two about Geralt of Rivia’s adventures.
An interesting point to note with regards to Jaskier’s return in season 2 is how much time has passed since he and Geralt first met. The timelines of season 1 were a source of great confusion for many viewers, but one can estimate that over two decades separate the moment when Jaskier and Geralt meet in “Four Marks”, and the encounter between Geralt and Ciri in the season finale. The latter instance is when season 2 is expected to pick up, which means that Jaskier, being one of the only mortal characters in the core cast, would by then be much older than the actor playing him.
The Witcher showrunner Lauren S. Hissrich admitted in a Reddit AMA that “we dropped the ball on ageing [Jaskier] up over the course of the show” but that they would be “approaching that differently in S2”. While fans have suggested the use of facial hair and a bonnet to age Jaskier, since the video games’ version of the bard is known for wearing a floppy bonnet in his later years, perhaps makeup or CGI would be more believable. Either way, The Witcher fans can look forward to more appearances from the “Toss a Coin to Your Witcher” singer in season 2.