The fourth season of The Witcher on Netflix is currently undergoing production, but when can we expect Geralt back and what do we know about this next chapter in the story?
After the explosive events of the season 3 finale, which saw Geralt and Ciri getting separated yet again, our monster-hunter is going to Nilfgaard to search of his ward. Ciri, meanwhile, has found a new home among the Rats, a gang of young criminals who make do with whatever they can steal from the rich.
The entire Continent is now hell-bent on finding Ciri and exploiting her powers, so Yennefer and Geralt have more than Nilfgaardian agents to contend with this time around. The Northern Realms want Ciri to secure their power, Emhyr of Nilfgaard wants Ciri to succeed him, and the Wild Hunt wants Ciri to find a new world for the Aen Elle.
But the forthcoming season 4 isn’t merely marking a split in Geralt’s company. The Witcher is attempting a massive shift in the form of its lead star. Henry Cavill has given up the mantle of the White Wolf, with Liam Hemsworth coming on board to take his place.
Can showrunner Lauren S. Hissrich and co. convince fans to give their new Geralt of Rivia a chance? Or is season 4 already doomed to fail? Here’s everything you need to know about this next outing.
The Witcher season 4 release date and filming
Netflix is planning to shoot season 4 and season 5 back-to-back, a process that is expected to take up to a year of principal photography. This report is courtesy of Redanian Intelligence, a reliable outlet dedicated to covering the latest developments from Andrej Sapkowski’s The Witcher.
Filming would’ve commenced sooner, but last year’s extended SAG-AFTRA writers’ strike pushed the schedule back. Still, the crew was slated to get the cameras rolling in March, so assuming that it will take Netflix the conventional six-month window to get all the footage it needs, we can expect The Witcher season 4 to premiere sometime in early 2025.
I know — that’s a longer wait than any of us were counting on, but considering what the industry went through last year, not to mention the tumultuous situation of the series itself within the fandom, it’s lucky that we even got a renewal.
It’s also been reported that The Witcher will end with its fifth season, which could explain why the team wants to shoot the two seasons back-to-back. This hasn’t been officially confirmed, though, so we’d take it with a boatload of salt for the time being.
Which cast members are coming back for The Witcher season 4 and who are the newcomers?
Apart from Henry Cavill, almost the entire cast is expected to return in season 4. That includes Freya Allen’s Ciri, Anya Chalotra’s Yennefer, and Joey Batey’s Jaskier.
Anna Shaffer (Triss), Graham McTavish (Dijkstra), Eamon Farren (Cahir), and Bart Edwards (Emhyr) are also reprising their respective roles.
As for newcomers, the most exciting addition is The Matrix and John Wick star Laurence Fishburne, who is portraying the fan-favorite character Regis. (Regis also appears in The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine DLC.) Sharlto Copley is bringing the despised mercenary Leo Bonhart to life. James Purefoy is portraying Skellan, and Danny Woodburn is appearing as Geralt’s trusted friend, Zoltan Chivay.
How will The Witcher handle the Cavill–Hemsworth switcheroo?
We still don’t know how Netflix is going to explain the switch from Henry Cavill to Liam Hemsworth. Will the series simply ignore the change and expect us to go along with it too? Or is there going to be an in-universe explanation for why Geralt suddenly looks and sounds very different?
According to what producer Tomek Bagiński told Radio Times last year, the possibility of alternate realities and a multiverse shouldn’t be overlooked. “This is a very little thing that I will tease,” he said. “People who know the books really deeply also know that this is not a typical fantasy book. It’s not just one world. It’s not just one story happening in those books, in those stories.”
What is the plot of The Witcher season 4?
Season 4 will pick up where it previously left off, adapting the fifth book in the saga, Baptism of Fire. Now, whether it’s our own Geralt or an alternate-reality Geralt whose story has followed the same path, our titular monster-hunter will be racing against the rest of the world to find Ciri. We can also expect to see the formation of Geralt’s infamous Hansa — consisting of Dandelion, Angoulême, Regis, Cahir, and the deadly Dryad archer Milva.
Stay tuned for more news and updates on The Witcher season 4.
