The Witcher Season 3 pauses production citing Covid concerns

The hit Netflix series, based on the equally popular video games, based on a book series, has paused production of Season 3 citing Covid issues.

Book series turned video game series turned streaming phenomenon The Witcher has paused production on Season Three, citing Covid issues. It is unknown at this time when production will resume.

It is unconfirmed at this time who got Covid exactly, but online rumours swirl around lead actor Henry Cavill testing positive for Covid during the production shoot. This is the second time production has had to halt due to the virus — production is based in the UK, where Covid restrictions have been relaxed. In 2020, production on Season Two had to stop due to Covid infections as well.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, the only comment given officially is that filming is “paused due to Covid and we will be up and running as soon as it is safe to do so.” THR reached out to Henry Cavill’s representative, who declined to comment.

The Witcher is based on the book series of the same name by Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski, which has also spawned three hit video game adaptations with a fourth one in the works. Picture: Netflix

The Witcher follows Geralt of Rivia, played by Henry Cavill, as he adventures across the mythical world of…well, the World, felling monsters and ill-fated humans alike. The show began life as a series of Polish novels, before being adapted into a series of video games, all of which were named “The Witcher” after the title given to Geralt by denizens of the World.

The Witcher 3 in particular is one of the best-selling games of all time, selling over 40 million units worldwide across its many different editions, while the Witcher video game series total has reached over 65 million sales worldwide. Praised for its fluid combat, immersive storytelling and worldbuilding, and wonderful card game (which has spawned a series of spin-offs by itself,) The Witcher 3 is well worth the time invested into playing it.

The developer, CD Projekt Red, has had a rough time despite The Witcher 3’s success. Its most recent blockbuster game, Cyberpunk 2077, launched in such a bad state, PlayStation has to remove it from its store to satisfy angered customers. Theories run wild with how that happened — one report suggests that Cyberpunk 2077 was buggy because the Quality Assurance team filed bogus numbers about their team size and experience.

Original reporting by The Hollywood Reporter.

Written by Junior Miyai on behalf of GLHF.