Tomorrow, the final three episodes of The Witcher season 3 hit Netflix. After a promising start last month, things are looking good for the monster-hunting fantasy show, even as fewer people watch season 3 than season 2.
A dip in viewership isn’t likely to have too much of an impact on the series’ immediate future, though. We’ve known that The Witcher is getting a fourth season for a while. But Henry Cavill will no longer play Geralt of Rivia. Starting in season 4, he’ll be replaced by Liam Hemsworth.
But when does season 4 start filming? After all, a show like The Witcher is a big complex affair with lots of action and special effects, which means it takes a good amount of time to put together. According to Production Weekly, The Witcher’s fourth season was slated to begin rolling cameras on September 4 in London. However, it seems that date may have just gotten pushed back.
Have the writers and actors strikes delayed The Witcher season 4?
The big question is whether The Witcher will actually be able to stick to that production schedule, since right now both the Hollywood writers and actors guilds are on strike. The Witcher largely films internationally, so it might be able to keep shooting anyway, as is happening with shows like House of the Dragon. HBO’s Game of Thrones prequel has continued production despite the strikes because of the draconian labor laws in the UK which allows studios to retaliate against striking workings with layoffs or lawsuits.
However, it seems that The Witcher will wait to begin production on season 4. Redanian Intelligence claims the series is now eyeing an early 2024 start date for filming. If that pans out, it means that we likely won’t see season 4 of The Witcher until 2025.
It’s unclear if The Witcher’s delay is due to the ongoing strikes, but it seems like a pretty safe assumption that they’re a factor. Let’s hope a fair deal can be struck between studios and Hollywood creatives so that everyone can get back to making the shows and movies we all love.
In the meantime, we’ll keep imagining what season 4 with Liam Hemsworth will look like. It was recently revealed that producers (and Jaskier actor Joey Batey) have already seen Hemsworth in costume as Geralt. Perhaps Netflix will tide us over with a glimpse if things stretch on too long?
Time will tell! Until then, we’ll be watching the final three episodes of The Witcher season 3 when they land on Netflix on July 27.
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h/t Max Blizz