A difficult road awaits Princess Ciri of Cintra in season 4 of Netflix's fantasy show The Witcher. Filming is set to begin on the fourth season of the series in March, and we're learning a lot more about what to expect. Last week we got the official announcement that veteran actor Laurence Fishburne (The Matrix) will play the vampire Regis in season 4, a key member of Geralt of Rivia's hansa. The hansa is essentially The Witcher's version of the Fellowship of the Ring; a group of companions who join Geralt's quest to find Ciri and travel the Continent together doing heroic deeds.
But what will Ciri herself be up to while Geralt and his comrades scour the countryside for her? When last we saw her, she had just fallen in with a group of teenage cutthroats known as the Rats. Ciri won their approval by effortlessly killing one of the trappers who were planning to sell her to Nilfgaard for the bounty on her head. We've seen Ciri kill plenty of monsters in The Witcher, but this was the first time she had ever slain another human being. Readers of The Witcher books know that this heralds a new chapter in the young warrior's life, and not necessarily a good one.
It sounds like Allan is well aware of the interesting road ahead for Ciri. While out promoting her new horror movie Baghead, the actor revealed that she's already read one of the scripts for The Witcher season 4. She also weighed in on what she's most looking forward to filming.
"I'm honestly just intrigued how they're going to translate that story from the books because it's... for Ciri's journey, it's a very pivotal moment in her storyline, and takes quite a dark turn," Allan told RadioTimes. "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."
“Ciri and the Rats. I'm excited to see that for her, for Ciri, for Freya. I know she is, too. I've met the Rats. They're brilliant and what they're going to bring to The Witcher, I can't wait for the fans to see.” - Anya Chalotra on what she’s excited about s4 of #TheWitcher pic.twitter.com/W7mAsMWV3p
— best of anya chalotra (@bestofanyac) July 28, 2023
The Witcher season 4 will be a "pivotal moment" for Ciri
Beginning in book 3, Baptism of Fire, Ciri finds a new sort of found family with the Rats. These bandits welcome her in, in part because of all the combat skills she gained while training under Geralt and the witchers at Kaer Morhen. The Rats have a reputation for being thieves, but ones who also occasionally share their spoils with the peasantry in the countryside. That might sound noble, but the way author Andrzej Sapkowski writes them, they are very gray characters.
Just like with Geralt and his hansa, Ciri is going to be spending a lot of time with the Rats next season. It should go without saying that these teenage bandits are probably not going to be quite as good of an influence on her as Geralt.
The Witcher season 4 is slated to begin filming in March, which means we're not expecting to see new episodes until sometime in 2025. We'll probably see the Rats again sooner than that, though. Last year, Netflix wrapped filming on a spinoff about the bandits, which also stars Dolph Lundgren. Lundgren will reportedly play a witcher in the spinoff. Season 4 is also expected to introduce Leo Bonhart, a major villain from the books who will reportedly be played by Sharlto Copley.
It's not known yet whether the Rats spinoff is a prequel, meant to sit between The Witcher seasons 3 and 4, or something else entirely. Hopefully we'll find out more soon.
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