The Witcher's showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich has teased some fresh details about one of the show's many mages.
The first volume of The Witcher season 3 is due to land on Netflix at the end of June, but in a new interview with Total Film Magazine (Issue #338, on sale now), Hissrich revealed shapeshifting spy Philippa Eilhart (played by Cassie Clare) is due to become a much bigger presence in the show going forward.
Eilhart was previously seen working for Redanian spymaster Sigismund Dijkstra (House of the Dragon's Graham McTavish) in the form of an owl in The Witcher season 2's season finale.
Hissrich said of the character: "She is so important as we continue building the franchise.
"We get to understand what her politics are, what her relationships are. And of course, Philippa ends up having an agenda of her own, that becomes very prominent in season 4."
Her expanded role in the show was also teased by the cast over on Tudum. Jaskier actor Joey Batey teased that he couldn't wait for fans to meet her and her spymaster. "The chemistry between them, the dynamic, the constant shifting machinations of the political movements are fascinating. I can't take my eyes off of Cassie and the vulnerability and the power that she wields."
Hissrich also discussed what the writing team's plans were when it came to handling Henry Cavill's departure from the Continent. "I mean, we had the choice to have Geralt exit and to end the show", she told Total Film. "[But] that's not something that we were willing to do. There's just too many stories left to tell.
"If we replaced Geralt with another Witcher, we would be going fully away from the books, and I don't think that's what anyone wanted either", she added. On the bright side, it sounds like The Witcher family are ready to welcome Liam Hemsworth in as Cavill's replacement.
"We're all excited about Liam coming in", Hissrich said. "He's got enormous shoes to fill, but also has a lot of energy and a lot of excitement for it. It's obviously a brand-new chapter for us. And there's a lot of feelings involved. But at the end of the day, we love what we're doing. So we're gonna keep doing it."
The Witcher season 3 hits Netflix this summer in two volumes. The first five episodes are arriving on Thursday, June 29, with the remaining three coming one month later on Thursday, July 27.
