The Witcher season 4: Release date speculation, cast and latest news
Get ready for a new Geralt!
At long last, we finally have our first look at Liam Hemsworth as Geralt of Rivia in the new season of The Witcher.
Fans will undoubtedly be excited over the brief first look teaser that Netflix released this week, which shows a shadowed Geralt making his way through a dark forest with his horse. While it's hard to make out his face at first, the camera slowly pans to reveal Hemsworth.
And the similarities with former Geralt star Henry Cavill are weirdly uncanny! As well as the teaser trailer, we also got treated to a first look image of Hemsworth (well, the back of his head), which you can see above.
As for the teaser itself, scroll on to watch it for yourself. It was previously revealed that the fourth season of The Witcher had gone into production with the main cast being pictured at a table read.
The snaps show Cavill having a blast with his co-stars, including Joey Batey, who plays Jaskier. The behind-the-scenes snaps also show the newly cast Laurence Fishburne, who will be playing Regis.
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And for those fans wondering whether season 4 will be the end, there's good news on the horizon. That's right, the fifth and final season of The Witcher has been greenlit at Netflix, confirming we'll see out Geralt's journey fully alongside Ciri (Freya Allan), Yennefer (Anya Chalotra) and Jaskier (Batey).
Showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich said: "It is with huge pride that we begin shooting our penultimate season of The Witcher with a stellar cast, including some exciting new additions, led by Liam Hemsworth as Geralt of Rivia.
"We're thrilled to be able to bring Andrzej Sapkowski's books to an epic and satisfying conclusion. It wouldn't be our show if we didn't push our family of characters to their absolute limit – stay tuned to see how the story ends."
Here's everything we know so far about The Witcher season 4.
The Witcher season 4 release date speculation
We're not expecting season 4 of The Witcher any earlier than summer 2025.
Production has officially begun, with Netflix sharing behind-the-scenes snaps of a table read. However, there are still months of filming to go and then post-production.
The series was affected by the WGA strike last year. As soon as we know anything further about a confirmed release date, we'll update this page.
Who is returning in The Witcher season 4 cast?
We're expecting the following stars to appear in The Witcher season 4:
- Liam Hemsworth as Geralt of Rivia
- Anya Chalotra as Yennefer of Vengerberg
- Freya Allan as Ciri
- Joey Batey as Jaskier
- Bart Edwards as Emhyr/The White Flame
- Frances Pooley as Teryn
- Mahesh Jadu as Vilgefortz
- Royce Pierreson as Istredd
- Mecia Simson as Francesca
- Mimi Ndiweni as Fringilla
- Therica Wilson-Read as Sabrina
- Anna Shaffer as Triss
- Hugh Skinner as Radovid
- Graham McTavish as Dijkstra
- Cassie Clare as Philippa
- Wilson Mbomio as Dara
- Laurence Fishburne as Regis
- Linden Porco as TBC
As previously mentioned, Henry Cavill will not appear in The Witcher season 4, after shocking fans and the entertainment industry with his decision to step down from the role of Geralt.
Instead, Liam Hemsworth will lead the cast in what is arguably his most high-profile gig since The Hunger Games franchise wrapped up in 2015. Fans are divided on the choice, but could be persuaded once they see him in action.
Previously speaking to RadioTimes.com, executive producer Tomek Bagiński teased how the series will address the re-casting of Geralt.
He said: "Lauren [Schmidt Hissrich, showrunner] and her team – and there are a few really good writers returning to the writers' room for season 4 - I think they cobbled together a really nice opening which is really true to the books.
"This is a very little thing that I will tease – 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."
Also chatting to RadioTimes.com, cast members Anya Chalotra and Joey Batey revealed that Hemsworth had been in "training" as he prepared for filming.
Chalotra said: "Yeah we have, we've checked in."
Joey Batey, who plays Jaskier, added about his preparation: "Lots of emails! But to be honest, I think he's just using this time before we shoot to train and to study all the books and throw himself into this.
"No one can ask anything more than just complete committal to this role, and that's what he's doing. We're all really excited."
He's not the only new face on the scene, either.
The Matrix star Laurence Fishburne has joined the cast as Regis. Regis, introduced in Andrzej Sapkowski’s novel Baptism of Fire, is a world-wise barber-surgeon with a mysterious past, who joins Geralt on his journey in season 4.
Fishburne said of his new role: "I’m very excited to be joining the cast and look forward to exploring the wondrous world of The Witcher."
There will be plenty of other familiar faces returning, with Freya Allan and Anya Chalotra reprising their respective roles of Princess Ciri and Yennefer of Vengerberg, as well as Joey Batey returning to the role of Jaskier.
We're also expecting Duny/The White Flame to play a bigger role after that complete cliffhanger at the end of the latest instalment.
However, some fan favourites are unlikely to return – particularly MyAnna Buring, after Tissaia de Vries tragically met her demise in season 3.
Throughout the show, Tissaia had become a mother figure to Yennefer and the rest of the sorceresses - but after one too many heartbreaks, season 3 saw her decide that the only option was to take her own life.
Getting emotional as she explained Tissaia's reasoning, Buring told RadioTimes.com: "She feels utterly responsible for the death of so many, and she ultimately can't live with herself.
"I think that amount of pain feels unbearable and, for so long having felt that she could be a crucial help to the kingdoms and to Aretuza and to the future of Chaos, she suddenly realises within herself that she is no help at all.
"And I think that's why the end is the only possibility for her. She's not in the future. The others are. And it leaves this incredible gang."
Also not expected to return is Vizimir (Ed Birch), who was killed off in the season 3 finale as part of a plot to place his brother Radovid (Hugh Skinner) on the throne.
Meanwhile, season 3 proved tragic for Francesca, who not only lost her newborn baby, but her brother Gage (Kaine Zajaz) and her husband Filavandrel (Tom Canton). We're not expecting to see these characters back – but their losses will almost certainly have a huge impact on Francesca's story in season 4.
The Witcher season 4 plot theories
Season 4 of The Witcher will adapt Andrzej Sapkowski's novel Baptism of Fire.
We last saw our heroes torn apart across the Continent, and the next book in the series shows them having to embrace their own groups of misfits in order to find their way back to each other.
A synopsis from Netflix reads: "After the shocking, Continent-altering events that close out season three, the new season follows Geralt, Yennefer and Ciri, who are faced with traversing the war-ravaged Continent and its many demons apart from each other.
"If they can embrace and lead the groups of misfits they find themselves in, they have a chance of surviving the baptism of fire — and finding one another again."
Ciri actress Allan also shared a very welcome update, revealing some of what she's seen in the season 4 scripts.
Speaking to RadioTimes.com, she said: "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."
The new season could also include a much-anticipated development – at least according to star Joey Batey.
"There's a thing called the hanza, which I'm looking forward to exploring. It's a bit of a fan favourite moment, I think," he told Metro, referring to a team assembled by Geralt to rescue Ciri.
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Other plot details are being kept under wraps, but we're excited to see what else the season will have to offer!
While the series is based on the books by Sapkowski, the author previously suggested that his ideas haven't been taken on board as much as he would like.
In an interview with YouTube channel Cerealkillerz (via Variety) at Vienna Comic Con, the Witcher creator revealed he visited the set and gave his input for the show, but said that none of his ideas were used.
"The set was tremendous. Tremendous… I gave them some ideas, but they never listened to me," Sapkowski said, as he laughed. "It's normal. 'Who's this? It's a writer. It's nobody.'"
However, Sapkowski admitted that this wasn't an unusual thing for him. The author has written a number of books which have been adapted, including into a video game series.
Is there a trailer for The Witcher season 4?
While there's no official trailer just yet, we do have a first look teaser at Hemsworth as Geralt – how exciting.
You can watch it below.
The Witcher is available to stream on Netflix. Sign up for Netflix from £4.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.
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