One very big change is on the way for the fourth season of Netflix's "The Witcher," following the exit of star Henry Cavill at the end of season 3. Liam Hemsworth takes over the role of the title character, monster hunter Geralt of Rivia, for the announced fourth and fifth seasons.
"The Witcher" has consistently been one of Netflix's most popular shows, spawning both prequel series "The Witcher: Blood Origin" and animated film "The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf." But switching out the lead actor after three seasons is a risky move that may change the entire feel of the show.
It will still be quite a while before fans of the fantasy series based on Andrzej Sapkowski's novels get to see Hemsworth in the role, though, despite filming being in full swing. So, here's everything we know so far about "The Witcher" season 4.
'The Witcher' season 4 release date window
Although Hemsworth's casting was announced back in October 2022, before the third season even premiered, it's still likely to be a while before audiences can watch his debut as Geralt. Production on the fourth season began in April 2024, and given the extensive location shooting and post-production effects work required for a show like "The Witcher," the season premiere is probably more than a year away.
Filming for season 4 is still underway in July 2024, as Redanian Intelligence posted a first look at Ciri (Freya Allan) with a new outfit and haircut.
By comparison, the third season began production in April 2022 and premiered in June 2023, so if the show sticks to a similar schedule, "The Witcher" season 4 should be out sometime in summer 2025.
The good news is that the fourth and fifth seasons are being filmed back to back, so the wait between seasons 4 and 5 shouldn't be as long as the waits between previous seasons. There's even a chance that season 5 will premiere in late 2025 or early 2026, although summer 2026 seems like a stronger possibility.
'The Witcher' season 4 trailer
It would be a stretch to call the video that Netflix has released for "The Witcher" season 4 a trailer, but it does offer viewers the first glimpse of Hemsworth in the role of Geralt. There are no hints about what Geralt or anyone else will be doing in the new season, but the clip offers about 30 seconds of Hemsworth's Geralt leading his horse through a fog-shrouded swamp, accompanied by vaguely ominous sound effects. Hemsworth turns to the camera at the end, proving that the costume, makeup and hair designers have done an excellent job of making him look almost uncannily like Cavill's version of Geralt.
'The Witcher' season 4 cast
Hemsworth is the most significant addition to the cast for "The Witcher" season 4, but there are some other big names coming on board as well. Laurence Fishburne will be playing Regis, a character familiar to readers of "The Witcher" novels and players of the enormously popular "Witcher" video games. He's a barber and surgeon who's holding onto some secrets and will become entangled with Geralt in the new season.
Other new additions this season include Sharlto Copley as bounty hunter Leo Banhart, James Purefoy as court advisor and spy Skellen, and Danny Woodburn as the dwarf Zoltan. They join the already sprawling cast of characters spread across the expansive world of the Continent.
Here's Netflix's official breakdown of the full cast for "The Witcher" season 4.
- Liam Hemsworth as Geralt of Rivia
- Anya Chalotra as Yennefer of Vengerberg
- Freya Allan as Princess Cirilla of Cintra
- Joey Batey as Jaskier
- Laurence Fishburne as Regis
- Eamon Farren as Cahir
- Anna Shaffer as Triss Merigold
- Mimî M Khayisa as Fringilla
- Cassie Clare as Philippa
- Mahesh Jadu as Vilgefortz
- Meng’er Zhang as Milva
- Graham McTavish as Dijkstra
- Royce Pierreson as Istredd
- Mecia Simson as Francesca
- Sharlto Copley as Leo Bonhart
- Danny Woodburn as Zoltan
- Jeremy Crawford as Yarpen
- Bart Edwards as Emhyr
- Hugh Skinner as Radovid
- James Purefoy as Skellen
- Christelle Elwin as Mistle
- Fabian McCallum as Kayleigh
- Juliette Alexandra as Reef
- Ben Radcliffe as Giselher
- Connor Crawford as Asse
- Aggy K. Adams as Iskra
- Linden Porco as Percival Schuttenbach
- Therica Wilson-Read as Sabrina
- Rochelle Rose as Margarita
- Safiyya Ingar as Keira
'The Witcher' season 4 plot
With the announcement of "The Witcher" ending after its fifth season, Netflix confirmed that the final two seasons will cover all of the remaining novels in Sapkowski's original "Witcher Saga," which leaves plot elements from three books to be adapted into the two upcoming seasons. That's a lot of material, with more to take on per season than the show has previously packed into its individual seasons.
Series creator and showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich has also taken liberties with Sapkowski's work, which is one of the rumored reasons that Cavill left the show. So while the story of "The Witcher" will come to a conclusion at the end of the fifth season, it may take a very different route than the novels do.
For now, there are plenty of plot elements for "The Witcher" to pick up on from the end of Season 3. Geralt has embarked on a mission to save Ciri (Freya Allan), who has found her own new allies with a group of young outcasts known as the Rats. She's also given up the powers she previously possessed, which may or may not return in the new season. Geralt will have added support in his efforts to track down Ciri, thanks to the bard Jaskier (Joey Batey) and the archer Milva (Meng'er Zhang), who joined up with him at the end of season 3.
"This is the beginning of what fans [of the books] will know as the Hanza. It’s the group traveling with Geralt for the rest of the books. This becomes his newfound family," Schmidt Hissrich told Netflix's Tudum. "So, we start to watch the Hanza build and start to see that there are some amazing emotional connections to come there as well."
We also have an official synopsis for season 4 that 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."
