After the second season of Netflix’sThe Witchersadly lostFast & Furious 9star Thue Rasmussen due to scheduling conflicts, production has quickly recast the role of Eskel withThe Favourite’sBasil Eidenbenz. The Swiss actor, who has also appeared in the British historical dramaVictoriaand the biographical dramaDenialalongside Rachel Weisz and Timothy Spall, will make his debut duringThe Witcher’supcoming second season.
Eidenbenz will portray the character and fellow Witcher,Eskel, who is a long-time friend and colleague of the show’s main character, Geralt of Rivia, played byEnola HolmesandMan of Steelstar, Henry Cavill. The role was originally due to be played by Thue Rasmussen, who sadly had to dop out due to scheduling conflicts caused by the ongoing global situation. “Sadly, due to the rescheduling because of [current circumstances], I will not be portraying Eskel in The Witcher,” Rasmussen said in a statement posted to social media. “It’s heartbreaking, of course, but I mostly feel happy and grateful for the days I got to spend on set earlier this year. Everyone was extremely engaged and passionate about the project and it was a truly inspiring experience.”
The first season ofThe WitcherfollowsHenry Cavill as Geralt, a mutated monster hunter, who struggles to find his place in a world where people often prove more wicked than beasts. Set on a fictional, medieval-inspired landmass known as “the Continent”,The Witcherexplores the legend of Geralt and princess Ciri, who are linked by destiny to each other. The first season tells a non-linear story and follows the three main protagonists at different points of time, exploring formative events that shaped their characters, before eventually merging into a single timeline.
Alongside Cavill,The Witcherstars Anya Chalotra as Yennefer of Vengerberg, Freya Allan as Ciri, and Joey Batey as Jaskier. The second season is set to introduce several interesting new characters alongside Eidenbenz’s Eskel, including fan-favorite character and Witcher trainer Vesemir, played byKilling Eve’sKim Bodnia. Alongside them, the second season also finds Yasen Atour as Coën, Agnes Bjorn as Vereena, Paul Bullion as Lambert, Aisha Fabienne Ross as Lydia, acting newcomer Mecia Simson as Francesca, and Kristofer Hivju as Nivellen, all of whom will be joining Henry Cavill on his adventure through the monster-infested world ofThe Witcher.
The Witcher season 2recently returned to filming, with showrunner Lauren S. Hissrich and series director Stephen Surjik confirming that they have now returned to the valley of plenty after much delay. Filming on the series was put on hold back in March due to the ongoing global situation, as well as new cast member Kristofer Hivju falling ill.The Witcherseason 2 is expected to hit Netflix in summer 2021. The highly anticipated second season is just one of severalNetflixprojects based onThe Witcher, with the streaming giant also bringing a six-part limited series titledThe Witcher: Blood Origin, which will tell the story of the very first Witcher. This comes to us courtesy ofVariety.
