December 20^th is a big day for The Witcher fans all over the world. Netflix will be releasing season one and we can barely contain our excitement! Today, we were honored to speak to Joey Batey, who plays the lute-playing bard named Jaskier. You can also read our recent interviews with showrunner Lauren Hissrich, and actors Freya Allan and Anya Chalotra.

In a world where the consequences are life and death, how do you get into the mindset of playing a character that has such a jovial attitude in such dire circumstances?

I think the context—it's kind of hard to explain it, but the context of the Continent and everything that's going on—we have these huge themes of war, destiny, and xenophobia. That’s something that Jaskier is constantly aware of but in season one, we meet a very young Jaskier.

We see him grow throughout the series but we first meet him in his early 20s. And I think to anyone in their early 20s these days—when one might say the world is falling apart as well—there's still life in young people. That's something I really wanted to cling to really early on—a youthful exuberance, but also an honest exploration of what it means to be human. And I think Jaskier genuinely believes at the end of the day, there is a basic humanity and goodness to everyone. Whether that gets tested or not, everyone will have to find out.

It makes sense that some people joke or laugh in the face of fear.

Exactly. I mean, I definitely do. When I get scared or anxious, I start making loads of stupid jokes—which no one finds funny—stuff that’s very Jaskier. I think I've had about 30 years of research for this!

Jaskier and Geralt have a complicated friendship—they're kind of foils of each other aren't they? What are the good and bad sides they'll show viewers and what keeps them together as friends?

Well, I don’t know if the word ‘foil’ is right. The words that Lauren (Hissrich) first said to me when I landed the role—and I asked the exact same questions—she used the word mirror, which I cling to. It was really important that Jaskier became the mirror by which Geralt could see himself for who he truly is or truly could be.

And I think that works both ways. Geralt holds up a mirror to Jaskier and takes him down a peg—he’s not nearly as cool as he thinks he is. Henry (Cavill) and I had long conversations about it because a lot of the scenes we have together are based in this fierce, fierce loyalty that they have—however begrudgingly it might be on Geralt’s part.

That loyalty is what I used as Jaskier’s superpower, if you know what I mean. Everyone in this show has a superpower: Geralt has magic and can fight things; Yennefer can explode people with her mind; Ciri just explodes! Jaskier doesn't have a superpower. His superpower is storytelling and loyalty.

Everyone has a reason to be with Geralt, but they’re all for different reasons. I don't want any spoilers for anyone who hasn't read the books, but there are wishes involved, destiny, and these huge things tying these characters together. The only thing that ties Jaskier to Geralt is friendship, and that became my byword. I used to write all these keywords on my mirror in my trailer before going on set—just to remind myself exactly what his job was.

You wrote friendship on your mirror?

Loyalty! Loyalty! Not friendship. If anyone came to my trailer and saw that, they’d be like, ‘What? This guy is very strange!’

So, we know that we're starting with a young Jaskier. How does your character grow throughout season one? What lessons or mindset do you think will carry over to season two?

Season two, without spoiling too much, takes place over various different times and various different years. For Jaskier and Geralt’s story, because it does get to about just over decades, you do get to see a certain amount of maturity start to grow in Jaskier. The jokes and all this silliness is still there, but what comes with all these adventures and dire straits they always find themselves in is an understanding of the world around him and his place within it—which is to record the stories.

He is the storyteller—someone who believes so vehemently in the power of storytelling and in its ability to shape the world around them—having someone like that and to be playing him became an absolute joy. I really am very excited to start season two and continue that maturity whilst maintaining a certain amount of that Jaskier nonsense we hopefully know (and hopefully love).

We heard that Anya has musical talents. Did you both connect on a musical level?

Okay, so I turn up on set and I’m like, ‘I’m the bard. I’m the one who sings.’ Anya and I got quite drunk and were just off the bat with a guitar, and she started singing! And I was like, ‘Why am I the one who's doing all the songs!’ She sings astonishingly! She's one of the most incredible singers I've ever heard.

We did get quite drunk one night and we were like, we're going to do a side project. We're gonna make a band, and we'll call it Jaskier and the—I don't know what it was—Jaskier and the Woefully Underprepared.

We promised ourselves we'd do that but we've been so busy. So we might do something on Instagram at some point. Then you can all hear her sing—hear her beautiful dulcet tones—and I will get furiously jealous about the whole thing!

The first season of The Witcher will premiere on Dec. 20^th, and Joey Batey seems passionate to jump into season two! What do you think? Let us know in the comments below or in our forum!

Of all the interviews, teasers, trailers and experiences, this final trailer released by Netflix today, easily has us the most excited we've been for the very shortly released show! As far as trailers go, this one has it all; action, drama, comedy. But what stands out to us the most is the severity of this trailer. How things feel truly dire and the stakes couldn't be higher! We've said it before and we'll say it again, this show's magic use makes the Harry Potter films look like a birthday magician's. Check out the trailer for yourself below:

Let us know what you think of the trailer in the comments below and in the forum! Don't forget to follow us on Twitter!

We are less than eleven days away from The Witcher—which releases on December 20^th—and Netflix has just released three new featurettes. Actors Henry Cavill (Geralt), Anya Chalotra (Yennefer), and Freya Allen (Ciri) go in-depth about their characters. Each includes new quotes and scenes from the show and is beneficial to those who are new to the franchise.

In addition to the featurettes, composers Sonya Belousova and Giona Ostinelli have released two songs from The Witcher soundtrack. One entitled “Toss a Coin to Your Witcher,” is our first introduction to actor Joey Batey’s performance as Jaskier. The second is a musical composition called “Geralt of Rivia.” Take a listen here:

The wait is almost over and we are excited for December 20^th. What do you think of the featurette and the songs? Let us know in the comments below or in our forums!

Along with our press junket interview with showrunner Lauren Hissrich, we were honored to catch up with actors Anya Chalotra and Freya Allan. Our first meeting with the two was at the SDCC round table interviews: you can read the interviews with Anya here, and with Freya here.

I think both of you said you didn't read the books too much and that the script was where you were coming from, to reduce confusion. How has your understanding of your characters changed throughout season one?

Freya: I think at the start, I was daunted by the fact that I had some really huge scenes right at the beginning of filming. But actually, I was really thankful for those because it meant that I got closer to my character very, very quickly and it made the rest of filming a lot easier.

I feel like I did most of the discovering and connecting myself to the role right at the start because of those scenes. So I was kind of lucky to get to do that at the beginning, but obviously as you go along, you feel like you're getting to know your character even more.

Anya: Oh wow! I didn't know anything about The Witcher before I got my character breakdown for the audition and then obviously when I got the part, I immersed myself in the novels and the short stories. Then like I said, I find it really difficult to read ahead when we are focusing on Yennefer's backstory in the first stage of filming.

So really, I agree with my character and definitely feel⁠—because of season two being greenlit⁠—in a much more confident position to trust all the instincts that I had. I learned a hell of a lot! It's all new to me, this TV world. I've only had very little experience in that world, so I yeah, I'm looking forward to jumping right in!

Geralt’s foil is Jaskier⁠—they bring out the best and the worst in each other. Would you say Ciri and Yennefer have foils, and if so, how do they bring out the personalities of your characters?

Freya: I think Dara for Ciri because she learned so much from him. He has a totally different perspective on life and a completely different origin and upbringing. And so, her mind is kind of opened because of him.

He provides that different perspective for her but at the same time, he also brings out a certain kind of anger and frustration in her. He believes that her grandmother is evil⁠—and she loves her grandmother⁠—so there's good and bad things that they bring out in one another.

Anya: I think the two most important relationships in Yennefer's life are Istredd, who she first meets outside her family. He really introduces magic to her and helps her understand what is happening. She had no idea she was capable of these things and it’s also her first taste of that really deep connection—something she’s never really experienced within her family.

Then you’ve got her goal to find a true connection and unconditional love. There's a mother figure in the series for Yennefer, who again, she has a deep connection to.

Despite calling her a “Piglet?”

Anya: Yeah! It's a tough love, but it's rooted in something. And I think she learns why it's tough as she has more of a relationship with her.

Geralt and Yennefer have what some would call a tumultuous relationship. Do you think their relationship is a love/hate for each other, or a self-loathing of themselves?

Anya: Such a brilliant question! That’s something I’ll have to think about for season two, don’t I?

She's yet to figure out how and I think initially is just this animalistic, lustful relationship. Yennefer finds herself drawn to him, it's magnetic, and she doesn't want to need anyone—but she needs him.

So yeah, I think when she finds out that it's a wish that's bonded them together, that's something that she thought she was in control of, so she has to reflect on herself a lot. That might be because the complications come from—not necessarily self-loathing—but the insecurities they have within themselves.

Yeah, I like that phrase. Not self-loathing, that’s too harsh.

We hear a lot about what it's like to work with Henry, but are there other actors that you enjoyed working with on set? We’d love to hear more about those.

Anya: Oh my gosh, thank you!

I mean, we all know about Henry, right?

Anya: Sophie (Holland Casting) did an amazing job casting this series because everyone is so lovely!

Freya: They were all intelligent, sweet people! So Bjorn (Hlynur Haraldsson), who plays Eist, was literally the funniest man. Adam Levy, he guided me through everything and was so sweet. And Jodhi May, I just watched her and it was just incredible! Yeah, I mean, all the actors I worked with were just incredible.

Anya: Yeah, and Joey (Batey) is one of my closest friends and he played Jaskier. He’s an absolute dream to work with and to share the whole experience with.

Who else? MyAnna (Buring) was a mother figure not only in the series, but (to me as) Anya. She was an absolute dream to work with! She obviously has a lot of experience in this industry and gave me so many pearls of wisdom.

Julian Rhind-Tutt is an incredible actor and an incredible man. Royce Pierreson is an absolute dream to work with—so lovely and brilliant! I mean, I could go on.

It’s nice to hear about the relationships other than with Geralt.

Anya: Yeah, absolutely! Especially in the series, we get the chance to have those relationships, because we're leading up to the three of them coming together.

Are there any lessons from filming season one that you'll carry over for season two?

Freya: Well, as actors, it’s confidence. We just learned how it feels to be with a character for that many months and the process of going in and getting used to the routine. I suppose that’s something that was quite new to us—to be on a project for so long and with a character for so long—so yeah, I guess we're just going to be able to take on season two with more gusto.

So what are your plans until season two starts?

Anya: Christmas with the fam!

Feya: Yeah, having a life! But, hopefully there will be some preparation to come with pre-production.

The first season of The Witcher will premiere on Dec. 20th and both actors seem excited to jump back into their roles for season two! What do you think? Let us know in the comments below or in our forum!