Vesemir actor Kim Bodnia's reps explain why he isn't in The Witcher season 4

Right now, Netflix is nearing the end of filming on the fourth season of its monster-hunting fantasy show The Witcher. By any standard, this is an important juncture for the series, both onscreen and off. In terms of the story, season 4 marks a turning point as the show heads into its endgame, which will conclude with a fifth and final season set to film in 2025. Actor Liam Hemsworth is now taking up the mantle of Geralt of Rivia after Henry Cavill left the series following its third season.

And Geralt isn't the only character who will look a bit different in The Witcher season 4. Last week, reliable scoop site Redanian Intelligence reported that Kim Bodnia, who played Geralt's witcher mentor Vesemir in The Witcher season 2, isn't returning to the series. That was notable both because Killing Eve star Bodnia was a solid get for the series, but also because season 4 will primarily be adapting the novel Baptism of Fire, where Vesemir doesn't appear. Apparently the series added some scenes with the Kaer Morhen witchers in the upcoming season, which will feature a recast Vesemir as well as returning guest stars Paul Bullion and Zates Atour as the witchers Lambert and Coen, respectively.

Up until now, rumors of Bodnia's departure have been just that, no matter how strong the evidence. But now we've got an official confirmation from Bodnia's reps, who explained to Radio Times why the actor isn't returning to The Witcher. Turns out, it's all about scheduling. "Kim will not return as Vesemir as his current shooting diary didn’t fit in with Netflix’s shooting schedule of The Witcher season 4," Bodnia's representative told the outlet.

What scheduling conflict prevented Kim Bodnia from being in The Witcher season 4?

Radio Times did a bit more digging, and it appears that the scheduling conflict in question arose because Bodnia is also signed on to do Apple TV+'s racing movie F1, where he stars alongside Brad Pitt, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem, Tobias Menzies, and Sarah Niles. Apparently F1 has some fairly strict filming needs because some scenes need to be shot during actual F1 Grand Prix racing weekends, in order to incorporate real racing footage into the film. That left Bodnia little flexibility to work on both F1 and The Witcher.

Originally, Bodnia was actually slated to appear in both F1 and The Witcher season 4. However, The Radio Times reports that due to the Hollywood writers and actors strikes in 2023, studios had to shuffle around filming schedules, and as a result Bodnia could no longer do The Witcher. So whenever The Witcher season 4 premieres, we'll have to get acquainted with a whole new Vesemir. Perhaps that could even gel nicely with the meta narrative the show might use to explain Geralt's new visage in the season.

Until then, there's a lot going on in The Witcher universe. Netflix is also premiering a new animated film called The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep in February of 2025, which features Geralt of Rivia's famed video game voice actor Doug Cockle reprising the role. Author Andrzej Sapkowski has also finished a new Witcher novel, which is slated for a December release in Poland. And of course, the work continues on CD Projekt Red's next Witcher video game, codenamed Polaris. As for when we'll be watching Hemsworth as Geralt and Bodnia's replacement as Vesemir, I'd guess sometime in mid-to-late 2025.

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