Netflix's adaptation of The Witcher hit the Internet hard when it released last December, and is still the most streamed series in the world. Production on season two is officially in full swing, and its star Henry Cavill has taken to social media to re-introduce fans to his favorite equine partner.
Throughout The Witcher season one, Cavill's Geralt of Rivia travels on his horse Roach, who also serves as a confidante in-between bouts of monster hunting. The actor uploaded a photo of himself with Zeus, the horse who portrays Roach, on Instagram early this morning and asked why there isn't a category in the Academy Awards for "best supporting horse."
Cavill also discusses an inconsistency between real life and the series' canon in that Zeus is a male horse while Roach is traditionally female in The Witcher's original Polish novels. It's a fun bit of behind-the-scenes trivia for his followers, and very in-line with Cavill's history of discussing the show's production on Instagram and using his fandom to drive support for the Super Bowl-winning Kansas City Chiefs.
The Witcher showrunner Lauren Hissrich has also been active on social media promoting the ongoing production of season two today, posting on Twitter that the presumably hectic experience is turning her hair gray. Originally filming was meant to begin on February 17, but began a few days earlier than expected.
The success of this widely-beloved Netflix streaming show has had rippling effects on other media in The Witcher franchise. Sales of the original Polish novels have been boosted following its release, as have sales of CD Projekt Red's The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, a video game adaptation first released in 2015 that has since been ported to consoles like the Nintendo Switch.
That's not to say anything about the hoard of memes circulating the Internet, many of which are centered around "Toss a Coin to Your Witcher," a song performed by Joey Batey's bard character Jaskier. A strong presence online has undoubtedly contributed to the streaming show's lasting appeal, and with Cavill doing legwork to promote the upcoming season there's increasingly less time for fans to prepare for more fantasy adventures by consuming all The Witcher content they can.
The Witcher season 2 premieres in 2021.