The Witcher season 3 premiere title (and new location) has been revealed

The Witcher
(Image credit: Netflix)

The title of The Witcher season 3 premiere has been revealed – and it teases a key location from Andrzej Sapkowski’s novels.

‘Shaerrawedd’, written by Mike Ostroski and directed by Stephen Surjick, will feature the elven palace of the same name from the Blood of Elves novel (via Entertainment Weekly). It’s all set to be one of the show’s biggest and prominent locations.

"This set is one of the biggest we ever built," showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich said. "It was an interior-exterior set. Every shot is visual effects. Obviously there's a fight happening, but more than that, it is this big, open space."

The location will also form the starting point for Geralt "relinquishing his neutrality" as the season progresses.

"[Shaerrawedd] is when we get Geralt's main thoughts on neutrality and why he wants to be neutral," Hissrich explained. "It's a theme you will continue seeing throughout the season."

Even if Geralt moves away from being The Continent’s walking, talking version of Switzerland, his actor will change very soon. Henry Cavill is set to depart the lead role after the third season, with Liam Hemsworth taking over in his place.

A new report from Variety has confirmed that Hemsworth is locked into the role – despite Cavill also being on the outs with DC after a new Superman movie was reported to be in the works.

The Witcher season 3 is set to stream on Netflix in summer 2023. The Witcher: Blood Origin, set 1,200 years before the events of the show, will debut on the streamer on Christmas Day.

For more on what to watch next, here’s our collection of best Netflix shows you should be watching right now.

Bradley Russell

I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.

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