In its attempt to adapt Andrzej Sapkowski's novels, Netflix's The Witcher introduced a number of changes to certain characters and events, both major and minor. Now it appears that Season 2 may veer even further from the world of the novels, at least, where the witcher fortress of Kaer Morhen is concerned. It is important to note that the novels depict the ancient structure as largely empty, save for the five witchers from the School of the Wolf that winter there and Geralt's ward, Ciri.
A recent report from Redanian Intelligence has indicated that a number of new cast members, including Emily Byrt, Chloe King, Sandy Amon Schwartz, Claira Watson Parr, Maria Raduga and Tash Soodeen, have completed filming and that their characters -- none of which have yet been identified -- have interacted with those from Kaer Morhen. Actor Basil Eidenbenz was also involved in a scene featuring the aforementioned cast in their interaction with those at the witcher stronghold. This indicates that the Kaer Morhen of the Netflix series will be far more populated than its novel counterpart.
Initial reports and interviews with showrunner Lauren S. Hissrich appeared to suggest that Season 2 would adapt Sapkowski's Blood of Elves, in which Ciri trains at Kaer Morhen over the course of a winter under the guidance of Geralt of Rivia and his fellow witchers Lambert, Eskel, Coën and their mentor Vesemir. The inclusion of these cast members at Kaer Morhen seem to reveal a substantial departure from the world of the novels when coupled with previous reports.
It was revealed in May that the series is set to introduce several new witchers, one being Hemrik, played by stuntman Joel Adrian. More recently, it was reported that the series filmed a major action scene set at Kaer Morhen, featuring the witchers adapted from the novels as well as a number of new ones. While this action scene and the interaction featuring the new cast members are separate, they do hint at events and characters created exclusively for the series. Both these scenes have purportedly been directed by Stephen Surjik and are therefore likely to occur in a single episode.
The Witcher has already featured a number of changes from the source material, the most prominent of which was the alteration made to Geralt and Ciri's story, as well as the involvement of the dryads of Brokilon Forest. Hissrich has defended these changes in the past, arguing that the structure of the story as depicted in the novels would not work on television and that adhering too closely to it would, for example, force important characters to be introduced later in the series.
The Witcher stars Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia, Anya Chalotra as Yennefer of Vengerberg, Freya Allan as Ciri and Joey Batey as Jaskier. Season 1 is now available on Netflix.