It's already been a while since The Witcher season 3 but we're still going to be waiting a long time for The Witcher season 4. Netflix renewed the series for a fourth season about a half-year ahead of the season 3 premiere. There are rumors that season 5 is happening, but we'll get into that shortly.
Everyone wants to know when The Witcher season 4 is coming to Netflix. While we don't know the release date yet, there are going to be a lot of changes coming in season 4. Henry Cavill has officially left the series, and Liam Hemsworth will step in as Geralt of Rivia in season 4. That's the big news, but there are so many other things that we need to share with fans about the new season of the Netflix original series.
Oh, and speaking of big news! We just learned that the great Laurence Fishburne will be joining the cast of The Witcher season 4 as Regis, a "a world-wise Barber-surgeon with a mysterious past who joins Geralt on his journey in season 4," according to Deadline. Welcome to the Continent, Laurence Fishburne!
The Witcher season 4 filming starts in March 2024
Production has not yet started on The Witcher season 4 yet, but it was going to be starting very soon. According to Production Weekly, The Witcher season 4 was scheduled to start filming in September 2023, but we know that didn't happen.
According to reports from Redanian Intelligence, The Witcher season 4 production starts in March 2024. Production will run from March to October. Hopefully, season 4 filming will end before the end of 2024. Assuming that happens, we should see The Witcher season 4 sometime in 2025. Fingers crossed!
We'll update fans when season 4 production officially begins. It shouldn't be long now!
Has Netflix announced The Witcher season 4 release date?
As mentioned, Netflix has not announced The Witcher season 4 release date yet. Sometimes, the streamer will list a year that a new season is expected to premiere. We’ve seen that with shows like The Recruit, The Night Agent, and others. Deadline published a report of Netflix shows that will premiere in 2025. The Witcher was not on that list, but that's when we're expecting the new season to be released on Netflix.
I have been following and tracking production timelines for Netflix shows like The Witcher for almost a decade. It just takes longer for The Witcher to film, finish post-production, and promote than most Netflix shows. It's one of Netflix’s biggest productions. Under normal circumstances, fans usually have to wait at least 18 months between seasons. The first and second seasons premiered in December 2019 and 2021, respectively, with season 3 dropping in the summer of 2023. There were two strikes in the middle of season 3, so things were likely delayed for season 4. Once production starts, we can expect to see a season within the next year and a half to two years.
When looking at the release dates, it comes down to when production starts and how big of a production it is. As mentioned, this is one of Netflix’s biggest in terms of cast, crew, and complexity. There’s a lot of post-production work that goes into the series because of the world-building and action sequences.
If production starts in March 2024, which is what’s been reported, there’s no chance that we’ll see The Witcher season 4 in 2024, obviously. We’d be looking at a summer 2025 release date at the earliest for The Witcher season 4. Right now, summer seems a bit soon! We're going to predict Fall/Winter 2025 for The Witcher season 4.
Release Prediction: Fall/Winter 2025
Henry Cavill will be replaced by Liam Hemsworth as Geralt in season 4
As mentioned, this is probably the biggest news about The Witcher season 4. Unfortunately for fans of Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia, Cavill is leaving The Witcher. The season 3 finale will be Cavill’s last time playing Geralt.
I’m not sure exactly how to feel about Cavill leaving The Witcher. His performance has grown on me over the course of three seasons. It will definitely be a little weird to see someone else as Geralt, especially considering that season 3 ends right in the middle of a crucial arc for the character.
We still don’t know why exactly Cavill left The Witcher. There are rumors about on-set incidents and disagreements with the creative team, but I don’t think any of those rumors have been confirmed.
It’s also possible that Cavill had other projects lined up. Although his role in the new DC Universe didn’t play out, he has a number of other major projects lined up in the near future.
Luckily, Netflix has already found a replacement for Cavill.
Liam Hemsworth is joining the cast of The Witcher season 4. Hemsworth is the new Geralt in The Witcher season 4 and likely beyond.
It’s an interesting choice. There are other actors who look more like Cavill they could have chosen, but Hemsworth is a big star. He’ll have to put his spin on the character and hope it works out. It will be hard not to compare Hemsworth’s performance to Cavill’s.
Producer Tomek Baginski told that he’s seen Hemsworth as Geralt, and he approves of the look. Here’s what Baginski said:
"One thing I can tell is I’ve already seen Liam in Witcher makeup, and in the Witcher look. And he looks awesome."
We’re looking forward to seeing Hemsworth as Geralt in The Witcher season 4.
Season 4 cast
Netflix has not confirmed the full cast of The Witcher season 4. The show always adds new characters each season, and we’ll have to wait to find out who they are. We do know most of the major returning cast members who will be in The Witcher season 4, though.
- Liam Hemsworth as Geralt of Rivia
- Freya Allan as Cirilla
- Anya Chalotra as Yennefer
- Joey Batey as Jaskier
- Mimî M. Khayisa as Fringilla
- Eamon Farren as Cahir
- Anna Shaffer as Triss Merigold
- Royce Pierreson as Istredd
- Wilson Mbomio as Dara
- Mahesh Jadu as Vilgefortz
- Graham McTavish as Sigismund Dijkstra
- Cassie Clare as Philippa Eilhart
- Bart Edwards as Emperor Emyhr
- Hugh Skinner as Prince Radovid
- Therica Wilson-Read as Sabrina
- Cal Watson as Eva
- Christelle Elwin as Mistle
- Rochelle Rose as Margarita Laux-Antille
- Frances Pooley as Teryn (fake Ciri)
- Meng’er Zhang as Milva
- Mecia Simson as Francesca
- Safiyya Ingar as Keira
- Ben Radcliffe as Giselher
- Fabian McCallum as Kayleigh
- Aggy K. Adams as Iskra
- Connor Crawford as Asse
- Juliette Alexandra as Reef
- Laurence Fishburne as Regis
We know that a few cast members will not be back, including Henry Cavill, Tom Canton, MyAnna Buring, Ed Birch, Kaine Zajaz, Terence Maynard, Robbie Amell and Sam Woolf.
Season 3 ending, explained
At the end of The Witcher season 3, our main trio is in a very interesting place. Geralt, Jaskier, and Milva are heading to Nilfgaard to save Ciri, who has just been introduced to the people of Nilfgaard with Emyhr and Vilgefortz. The kicker is that it’s not the real Ciri! It’s Teryn, the Ciri impersonator who was staying with Otto and Anika in the forest.
Yennefer is looking for a way to save the Brotherhood and also save Ciri, but it will be in a different way than Geralt and Jaskier save her.
As for Ciri, she’s on her own path now. After wandering around the desert, she is starting to embrace her power and make big changes for the people of the Continent. She’s rescued from her captors in a tavern by the Rats, who ask her to kill the man who harmed her. Ciri kills the man, and when they ask her name, she says that she is Falka, the name of the Redanian Princess who killed her family using fire magic a long time ago.
So Ciri is embracing the dark side and she’s on her own with the Rats: Mistle, Asse, Reef, Kayleigh, Giselher and Iskra. It looks like they’re going to play a major part in The Witcher season 4.
As for the Redanians, King Vizimir is out and his brother Radovid is in. Phillippa and Dijkstra will continue on as royal advisors.
What’s next in The Witcher season 4?
The Witcher season 3 does a really good job following the books, which makes it easier to predict where things will go in The Witcher season 4. I won’t spoil anything, and it’s always possible the writers and creative team go in a different direction for season 4.
Mostly I’m excited for Ciri’s journey in season 4. She was on her own in season 1, but now she’s out in the big, bad world with a lot of knowledge, powers, and skills gained in the meantime. The dynamic with the Rats will be really interesting to watch.
It's not going to be easy for Ciri. Allan confirmed that Ciri's story will take a "dark turn" when speaking with Radio Times. Here's what she said about season 4:
"I'm honestly just intrigued how they're going to translate that story from the books because for Ciri's journey, it's a very pivotal moment in her storyline, and takes quite a dark turn. I'll be intrigued to see how they translate that to the TV version. But the prospect is exciting, to get to take her through that journey."
Geralt, Jaskier, and Yennefer have committed their lives to helping Ciri, and now Geralt has thrown impartiality to the wind. He’s ready to stop Nilfgaard now, and he’s going to try his best to get Ciri back.
Season 4 will also follow Geralt's hansa, which includes Geralt, Jaskier, Cahir, Milva, Regis, and Angoulême.
The Witcher season 4 should explore the war between Emyhr and Nilfgaard on the one side and Redania and the North on the other. Phillippa has a new plan. We’ll see if she can eventually best Emyhr and Vilgefortz. We also have Francesca, who has promised to Fringilla to make Emyhr suffer. That’s definitely something to watch in season 4.
Season 5 is rumored to be happening and might be the final season
Netflix has not given the official green light, not publicly anyway, to The Witcher season 5, but there are rumors and some reports that season 5 is already in the works. The latest comes from Redanian Intelligence. The outlet claims the writers have already started working on season 5. They also reported that the seasons (4 and 5) were supposed to be filmed back to back. That was before the writers and actors went on strike. It's unclear if that's still the plan, but with work starting on season 5 in the fall, there's definitely a chance things will be ready to go in the fall or even early 2025, if that's how long it takes for season 4 to film.
For now, we'll just have to wait and see what happens. It wouldn't be out of the ordinary for Netflix to officially announce the season 5 renewal sometime in 2024.
Unfortunately, it's also been reported by the outlet that season 5 will likely be the final season of The Witcher. Again, that hasn't been confirmed, but that seems to make sense with the timeline, the story, and then everything else going on with this franchise on Netflix, including the other spinoffs.
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