The Witcher Netflix series recasts Eskel for season 2

(Image credit: Netflix)

The Witcher season 2 has found its Eskel. The Favourite actor Basil Eidenbenz has stepped into the role following the departure of Thue Ersted Rasmussen, who had already begun filming scenes as the character earlier this year but has since pulled out due to coronavirus-related scheduling conflicts.

Eskel is a key character in Witcher lore, being a fellow Witcher to Geralt (Henry Cavill) and his longtime friend. Both trained under Master Vesemir, who will also appear in the series, played by Killing Eve's Kim Bodnia.

Rasmussen revealed last week Instagram that he would not be able to return for the second wave of filming, which began on August 17.

"Sadly, due to the rescheduling because of Covid-19, I will not be portraying Eskel in The Witcher," he wrote. "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."

😥🙏🐺⚔️ #witchernetflix #eskel #covid_19 Thue Rasmussen

A photo posted by @thuerasmussen on Sep 23, 2020 at 12:29am PDT

There's a lot to be excited about when it comes to The Witcher season 2. Alongside some familiar faces, expect a whole host of new characters making their way to the Continent. Among them is Lambert, who fans of the videogame series might recognise. Lambert is set to be played by Peaky Blinders’ Paul Bullion, and will be joining the series with Yasen Atour as Coen, Agnes Bjorn as Vereena, Kristofer Hivju as Nivellen, and many more.

The new series does not currently have a release date. If you're still craving more Witcher content, then check out the documentary of the making of season 1 on Netflix, or perhaps have a gander at the best Netflix shows available right now.

Jack Shepherd
Freelance Journalist

Jack Shepherd is the former Senior Entertainment Editor of GamesRadar. Jack used to work at The Independent as a general culture writer before specializing in TV and film for the likes of GR+, Total Film, SFX, and others. You can now find Jack working as a freelance journalist and editor.

Latest in TV
Xenomorph in Alien: Earth
New Alien: Earth clip shows the last of another expendable crew
Adam Scott as Mark S and Britt Lower as Helly R in Severance season 2
There might have been another reason for Mark's decision in the Severance season 2 finale
Dichen Lachman as Gemma in Severance season 2
One Severance season 2 fan theory gives even bleaker meaning to Mark S's Cold Harbor mission
Xenomorph in Alien: Earth
Alien: Earth gets "suspenseful" teaser in behind-closed-doors showcase of Noah Hawley’s new sci-fi show
Severance season 2 trailer
Silo and Severance season 2 may have scored over 90% on Rotten Tomatoes, but Apple is reportedly losing over $1 billion a year on streaming
The Summer Hikaru Died still
Netflix's new horror anime series The Summer Hikaru Died is coming this year, and it has a creepy new poster to set the tone
Latest in News
A screenshot from MindsEye showing a character leaning out of a car, shooting another car with a gun.
GTA veteran says the games industry needs to "get smarter" about what people actually want: "There are so many games, and I think we're starting to feel the effects"
Posing with a rifle in the Fallout 76 Ghoul update
Fallout 76's art director "had to fight really hard" so Bethesda would make the MMO's map bigger than Skyrim's
Minecraft movie image of Jack Black as steve
Don't expect Minecraft to go free-to-play anytime soon, as Mojang says "It doesn't really work with the way we built it"
Yasuke looking over the water to a shrine during sunset in Assassin's Creed Shadows
Assassin's Creed Shadows has an entire island stuffed with adorable kittens you need to check out, and it's based on an actual Japanese cat paradise
phase zero key art showing zombies in a hallway
Former Witcher 3 and Dying Light devs reveal their Resident Evil homage, complete with PS1-style fixed cameras
Shadow of Mordor's Nemesis System was only created because WB Games wanted something to combat Batman Arkham Asylum's second-hand sales, exec says