The Witcher Season 2 Just Lost An Actor To COVID-19
The Witcher will have to get along without this actor in season 2.
This article is more than 2 years old
The Witcher season two is in the middle of production and they have been taking every precaution to avoid any potential outbreak or infection from the coronavirus. Unfortunately, all their protective measures could not prevent one member of the cast from suffering the effects of the pandemic.
Newly cast Thue Ersted Rasmussen, who is also scheduled to appear in the Fast & Furious sequel F9 next year, has had to step away from production on The Witcher season two. Rasmussen was cast as Eskel, another Witcher in the lore of the series. Though he did not walk away from the show because of a COVID-19 diagnosis, his schedule was affected by the pandemic and he had to leave the series.
Rasmussen left a heartfelt message on social media platform Instagram in which he thanked the support he found from both The Witcher fans and the people involved with the production.
Production on season two of The Witcher had to be pushed back by a sizable margin due to the original shutdown. Rasmussen’s decision to exit the show seems to be motivated by this change in scheduling. It is an unfortunate state of affairs but an understandable one. Film and television productions have to schedule their shooting plans as far in advance as possible and creatives structure their personal and professional lives around those schedules. When they suffer a major upheaval, it can throw everyone’s plans into the drain.
The Witcher season two had a member of its cast actually test positive for coronavirus earlier this year and that was the start of production being halted. Filming recommenced in late August and it sounds like it has been progressing fairly well. It is going to be interesting to see how the Netflix production will be handling the recasting of Eskel and how quickly they will be able to announce a replacement for Rasmussen.
The Witcher season two is not the only major production to feel the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Whether it is Robert Pattinson contracting the virus and having to temporarily depart production on The Batman or the many reschedulings happening with theatrical releases like Black Widow, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to prove that it does not care about what guidelines are in place.
Hopefully, The Witcher will be able to avoid any other setbacks in season two and can continue on as planned. However, we continue to hear instances of high profile figures contracting the virus. Can Netflix keep the production 100% safe and proceed with filming so that the show’s second season can be released as planned? And what will happen if series star Henry Cavill ends up contracting the virus? What kind of a PR nightmare would the streaming giant be dealing with at that point?
It’s a bummer we won’t get to see Rasmussen in The Witcher season two. Hopefully, he will get another shot at appearing in the series in another role. If not, at least he will be able to enjoy the new season as a fan of the series.
