Game of Thrones’ Kristofer Hivju Joins The Witcher Season 2

As production officially begins for the upcoming second season of The Witcher, Netflix has announced that Games of Thrones alum Kristofer Hivju has been tapped for the role of Nivellen in the next installment of the Henry Cavill-led fantasy series adaptation. In the books, Nivellen was a cursed man, who was turned into a human beast by a young priestess. This will mark the latest TV project for Hivju since portraying the fan-favorite wildling Tormund Giantsbane in HBO’s award-winning series Game of Thrones which had aired its eighth and final season last May.

“The reaction to season one of The Witcher set a high bar for adding new talent for the second season,” showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich said in a statement (via Deadline) “Sophie Holland and her casting team have once again found the very best people to embody these characters, and in the hands of these accomplished directors, we’re excited to see these new stories come to life.”

Six other actors have also been cast for Season 2 including Paul Bullion (Peaky Blinders) as the witcher Lambert; Yasen Atour (Young Wallender) as Coën, a witcher from Poviss; Agnes Bjorn as Vereena, a powerful bruxa; Thue Ersted Rasmussen (Fast and Furious 9) as Eskel, Geralt’s friend from his youth; Aisha Fabienne Ross (The Danish Girl) as Lydia, a sorceress; and Mecia Simson (Britain and Ireland’s Next Top Model) as the preternaturally beautiful elf Francesca.

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Based on the best-selling fantasy series, The Witcher is an epic tale of fate and family. Geralt of Rivia, a solitary monster hunter, struggles to find his place in a world where people often prove more wicked than beasts. But when destiny hurtles him toward a powerful sorceress, and a young princess with a dangerous secret, the three must learn to navigate the increasingly volatile Continent together.

The series stars Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia, Freya Allan as Princess Ciri, Anya Chalotra as Yennefer of Vengerberg, MyAnna Buring as Tissaia, and Joey Batey as Jaskier. Season 2 will also feature the return of Tom Canton as Filavandrel, Lilly Cooper as Murta, Jeremy Crawford as Yarpin Zigrin, Eamon Farren as Cahir, Mahesh Jadu as Vilgefortz, Terence Maynard as Artorius, Lars Mikkelson as Stregobor, Mimi Ndiweni as Fringilla Vigo, Royce Pierrseson as Istredd, Wilson Radjou-Pujalte as Dara, Anna Shaffer as Triss Merigold, and Therica Wilson Read as Sabrina.

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The Witcher series for Netflix is based on the stories and novels by Andrzej Sapkowski, of which there are eight, which themselves formulated the popular Witcher games franchise which has since spawned a comic book series and a tabletop game. The book series was previously adapted for television in Poland.

Schmidt Hissrich serves as executive producer and showrunner for The Witcher. She’s known for her work (writing and co-executive producing) on The Defenders, Daredevil, and Power. Sean Daniel is set to executive produce under the Sean Daniel Company with his partner Jason Brown. Tomek Baginski and Jarek Sawko of Platige Image are also executive producers as well.

All eight episodes of the first season are already available for streaming on Netflix.