In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, showrunner Lauren Hissrich spoke about the future of “The Witcher” and the Wild Hunt’s place within it. While she promised that the Netflix version of Andrzej Sapkowski’s novels would ultimately feature the spectral riders, she all but confirmed that they would not appear in any meaningful way during Henry Cavill’s final season. As Hissirch said:
“I think a couple of things are gonna happen right now. We set up the Wild Hunt for Ciri in the middle of season 2 as her thinking, ‘I don’t quite understand what this is. I don’t understand why they’re in this dreamscape that I’m having.’ And then, obviously, at the very end, she visits the dark elves’ sphere and she realizes these people are after me. We all know that, eventually, Geralt is going to learn a little bit more about the Wild Hunt, as will Ciri, but right now it stays this ever-looming threat to her. It sort of goes between her fingers. She can’t quite catch it and figure it out yet.
So, yes, the Wild Hunt are sure to terrorize the Continent at some point but not quite yet, it seems. Hissirch’s statement suggests that “The Witcher” will devote a season or two to building them up for a later, more dramatic conflict. While the Netflix production has come under fire for faithfulness to the source material, this choice, at the very least, is in line with Sapkowski’s work.