Well, Amazon has done it again. A new product page for a D&D book has come before an official announcement. And that product is called The Wild Beyond the Witchlight. By the title and its subtitle, not to mention the blurb on the Amazon page, this looks to be the big fall adventure book for 2021.
The Feywild hasn't really seen much exposure in 5th Edition - apart from some mention in the Dungeon Master's Guide and one or two of the adventures in Candlekeep Mysteries involving it, we haven't really touched on it that much.
Of course, the Feywild is D&D's version of the land of Faerie, based mostly on the Irish myth concept of the Otherworld. As one of the closest planes to the Prime Material, the Feywild is a reflection of the material world we inhabit, but the rules are a bit different.
The Feywild's inhabitant are the Fey - a fairly common creature type. Fey are most classically represented by sprites and pixies, and if we get the playable races that were presented in the Folk of the Feywild Unearthed Arcana, there may simply be a Fairy race. Among monsters that D&D parties tend to face, the most iconic fey tend to be hags, who represent the classic "wicked witch."
We know nothing about the adventure itself beyond its setting, though we can probably infer that hags will play a part, given the idea of the "witchlight."
While the Feywild is known for its bright colors and whimsy, it's not a safe place. You could argue it's a place defined largely by chaos, though it might be less that it's chaotic and more that the laws there are profoundly different from what mortals are used to. The fey have very different expectations of behavior, and so things that might seem somewhat arbitrary to us - like giving gifts or attending parties - might be seen as more important than life or death.
In an earlier post, I suggested one way for a fey character to become an antagonist purely through the oddities of different ethical and moral systems, rather than true malice. The characters gets invited to a party at an archfey's house. While at the party, they are asked if they are enjoying themselves. The correct answer is to just change the subject, because if they say they aren't, then the archfey becomes profoundly depressed at his failure to entertain such esteemed guests and decides that no one can be allowed to survive, as he could not allow his reputation as a gracious host to be sullied by a bad party. On the other hand, they also can't say that they are enjoying it, because then he will decide that he must never let them leave - if they leave, it means they're no longer enjoying the party, after all. And he'd much rather the adventurers die before they can grow bored, as the latter would be a much worse fate, wouldn't you agree?
So, the fey can be treacherous and dangerous without any malice, and navigating the complexities of fey etiquette could be one of the challenges to the setting.
Of course, it's also home to creatures who are perfectly malicious, like Hags, who just plain enjoy making people suffer.
Indeed, while the Feywild might look like the good mirror of the Shadowfell, the truth is that it can be just as scary and dangerous. It just might be a bit more colorful.
Anyway, I'm pumped for this new adventure, though it won't be out until September.
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