Season 3, Part 2 of The Witcher was recently released on Netflix, wrapping up the latest installment and featuring Henry Cavill for the final time as Geralt of Rivia. But the show's not over yet.
Netflix already renewed The Witcher for a fourth season, and although it is still early, plenty of details for it have already been made public.
Overall, Season 3 saw a dip in viewership when compared to past installments, but the show will look to rebound in the upcoming season with Liam Hemsworth in the lead role.
That being said, here is everything you need to know about Season 4 of The Witcher.
When Will The Witcher Season 4 Release?
Original reports stated that Season 4 of The Witcher would get started right away and begin filming by September 2023.
However, likely due to the current Writers Guild of America (WGA) and Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) strikes, production for the upcoming season was delayed until further notice.
It is important to note that most of The Witcher's actors are from the U.K., so they likely belong solely to Equity (the U.K.'s actors union) or to both Equity and SAG-AFTRA.
This means that the actors' strike in America wouldn't affect those actors who are part of Equity since The Witcher is an international production.
However, Liam Hemsworth, who is an Australian actor, is likely a member of SAG-AFTRA and not Equity, so his situation would be a little more complicated.
With that being said, Hemsworth's likely absence would definitely affect the filming schedule for Season 4 of The Witcher since he is replacing Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia, the show's main character.
It is impossible to predict exactly when the strikes will end, but it is safe to assume that Season 4 of The Witcher will not begin filming until 2024.
The first three seasons of the show were released two years apart from one another, with Season 1 coming out in 2019, Season 2 releasing in 2021, and Season 3 in 2023.
If Season 4 does start filming relatively early on in 2024, then a late 2025 release window would be probable.
Seeing as how nearly all the writing is already finished for the upcoming installment, once filming begins, the cast and crew can get the ball rolling as quickly as possible and catch up to their original schedule.
Is Henry Cavill Being Replaced in The Witcher Season 4?
To the disappointment of many fans, Henry Cavill is being replaced in Season 4 of The Witcher.
The actor coming into the role for the remainder of the show will be Liam Hemsworth, taking up the mantle of the monster hunter right away.
The news that Cavill would be leaving the show broke on October 29, 2022, when the actor announced via Instagram that Season 3 would be his last time playing the character.
The reason for his departure wasn't specified, but reports stated that he and showrunner Lauren D. Hissrich often disagreed over the direction to take the show.
Cavill apparently wanted to stay true to the source material, which is a series of novels by author Andrzej Sapkowski; Hissrich desired a show that wasn't "a 1:1 adaptation."
It is also important to note that Cavill's departure came just after he made a cameo appearance in Black Adam as Superman and thought that he would be returning as the Man of Steel.
That could have also played a major role in Cavill's decision to leave The Witcher, as playing a character like Superman in a franchise as big as the DCU would definitely be time-consuming.
However, it was eventually announced by co-CEO of DC Studios James Gunn that the actor would not be coming back to play Superman and that he would instead be casting a younger name to portray the Last Son of Krypton (which turned out to be David Corenswet).
This resulted in Netflix officially casting Liam Hemsworth in the role, who will undoubtedly try to pick up where Cavill left off and bring a fresh start to Geralt of Rivia in Season 4.
Tomek Baginski, one of the show's executive producers, stated that Hemsworth "will be a new Geralt" and that the crew is handling it in a "very lore-accurate" way.
The Witcher Season 4 Cast: Who Will Return?
After Part 2 of Season 3, not every character from the previous installment will be returning for Season 4.
However, a lot of the main characters will be coming back, and it is a little easier to predict exactly who will be featured in major roles since the upcoming season will be based on the fifth book in Sapkowski's series, Baptism of Fire.
Liam Hemsworth - Geralt of Rivia
Of course, the show's lead actor will have a huge role in the upcoming series.
After many fans were displeased about how little Geralt was seen in Season 3, they can expect him to be back in full force for Season 4 as the Baptism of Fire novel features Geralt going all out in order to get Ciri back into his care.
This will put Hemsworth's ability to show the angrier side of Geralt on display, and fans can expect there to be plenty of action.
Anya Chalotra - Yennefer of Vengerberg
Since her introduction in Season 1, Yennefer has become just as important as any character in the entire series.
However, if the show does stay true to Baptism of Fire, Yennefer won't be in Season 4 as much as she was in previous seasons. That doesn't mean that when she does appear it won't be scenes of extreme importance, though.
It is entirely possible that Yennefer's story will be changed from the book and that her relationship with Geralt will be more deeply explored in Season 4.
Freya Allan - Princess Cirilla of Cintra
After figuring out that the real Ciri was not with Emhyr, all fans know is that Geralt and Jaskier are leaving Brokilon Forest in order to find her and seek out revenge on Emhyr.
Since she is such a big focus for Geralt in Baptism of Fire, fans can expect Ciri to be a major character in Season 4, and viewers will likely get to see her grow leaps and bounds as a character since she is currently out on her own.
Joey Batey - Jaskier
Due to the fact that Jaskier is setting out with Geralt to find and rescue Ciri at the end of Season 3, it is safe to assume that he will have a lot of screen time in Season 4.
Geralt will be exacting his revenge on anyone in his path during Season 4, and Jaskier will likely be right by his side for the most part.
Mahesh Jadu - Vilgefortz of Roggeveen
Showrunner Lauren S. Hissrich stated that Vilgefortz is "the most powerful mage" in the entire Continent, and that will definitely be shown during Season 4.
After learning that Vilgefortz is in league with Emhyr and Nilfgaard, in Season 4, he may turn out to be one of the show's main antagonists.
Bart Edwards - Emhyr
One of The Witcher's biggest plot twists was that Nilfgaard's Emperor Emhyr is actually Ciri's birth father, especially since the forces of Nilfgaard were introduced as the villains of the show.
Emhyr will have a major role in Season 4 and will definitely be featured front and center in a way that viewers haven't seen before.
What Will Happen in The Witcher Season 4?
If Season 4 of The Witcher does end up following the events of Baptism of Fire fairly closely, then it will be an extremely Geralt-focused story.
That may be exactly what the show needs to get its viewership numbers back on track, and it would definitely allow fans to become accustomed to seeing Liam Hemsworth in the role.
Season 4 will feature a lot of action in the form of Geralt going on a revenge rampage, but it will also likely feature the war between Nilfgaard and the Northern Kingdoms, a conflict that has been building up for some time now.
It is also safe to assume that Vilgefortz will be the main villain for the upcoming installment. Viewers will likely find out his true motives and reasonings for his actions, and he will be a more prominent on-screen figure.
It wouldn't be a surprise if he crossed paths with Geralt and Yennefer at some point in Season 4, greatly putting his abilities on display.
The first three seasons of The Witcher are available to stream on Netflix.
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