We heard in June that season 2 of Netflix's The Witcher series, whose production was delayed by COVID-19, will resume shooting on August 17. It appears to have started earlier than that, as director Steven D. Suljik posted images from the set on August 5. And if there was any doubt, Henry Cavill posted a picture of his makeup process yesterday, which involved "pounds" of tape and glue.

"We are all covid-cleared and covered in foam," Cavill wrote, meaning that the Witcher cast and crew avoid contact with anyone outside the group. Tests are conducted twice a week.

Cavill's miserable look in this photo is not surprising: the application and removal of professional film makeup done by Ailbe Lemas and Jacqueline Lator is a long and unpleasant process, no matter how good the artists are. (I say this from a brief personal experience with special makeup about 10 years ago. It was hot and itchy.)

At the same time, whatever scene was filmed, Gellert himself looks terrible. At least he is a bit battered, although to be fair he often looks like that.

The first season of The Witcher introduced the world and its characters in a series of time-hopping stories that eventually collide. The big question for Season 2 is how well the saga can continue, moving to a more linear structure.

No release date has been announced, so we don't know when that will be. Before the pandemic, we expected "The Witcher" Season 2 to be released around 2021. That is still a possibility, but probably not until the last minute, if it is released next year. Principal photography for Season 1 of The Witcher ended in May 2019, and the season was released more than six months later, in December 2019. A similar pattern could be followed if filming for Season 2 ends in early 2021.