The producer and director of Netflix's The Witcher series confirmed that production on season 2 has resumed on a socially distanced set. Season 1 of the show, which features Man of Steel star Henry Cavill in the title role of Geralt of Rivia, is an adaptation of the famous novels by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski. The character first came to prominence in the wildly popular game series, which led to fans seeking out the books, and eventually led to the series being adapted for the TV show. The Witcher was a hit for Netflix and was renewed for season 2 before the first batch of episodes had debuted.
Season 2 of The Witcher began production back in January but was halted, along with every other movie and TV production back in March due to the coronavirus pandemic. Recent reports suggested that production would begin again on August 17, close to the original filming end date, and would continue well into 2021. As a result, showrunner and producer Lauren S. Hissrich has said that several changes were made to the scripts for season 2, tightening up the story and making them better.
Stephen Surjik, who is slated to direct the first two episodes of season 2 of The Witcher, took to Instagram and Twitter to confirm that production has already begun, a few days ahead of the scheduled start date of August 17. The first post shows the communication system used on-set to keep cast and crew separate as much as possible, and the second is a photo of Surjik and Hissrich sitting in front of monitors while wearing masks. Hissrich retweeted the second post, adding that it's the farthest the pair have sat from each other on set. You can see both posts below.
Besides being an exciting piece of news for fans who can't wait to see The Witcher season 2, it's also a rare insight into what movie and TV productions will look like for the foreseeable future. The challenges of keeping everyone on set must be immense and have likely forced productions to change several routine procedures because movie sets are usually crawling with crew and cast, often interacting in close quarters.
The communication system that Surjik shows off in his Instagram post is one such example. Crews usually use a simple walkie-talkie system for communicating across distances, but otherwise, talk directly to each other on set. But this seems to illustrate that individual members of the crew will be kept isolated in their departments, and they will be using remote communication to stay safe.
Hopefully, the measures work, and the cast and crew of The Witcher all manage to stay safe from the coronavirus. If the show is to make its release date, said to be in mid-to-late 2021, they'll have to avoid any further shutdowns. Provided they can follow the protocols season 2 should be on screens as scheduled.
Source: Stephen Surjik/Lauren S. Hissrich/Instagram/Twitter