It's curious the way the fandom and favour of time can change – a few years ago, The Witcher was debuting to huge numbers for Netflix, heralding the start of a new franchise based on a universe that gave rise to some of the most impressive games ever made. Now, its fourth season finally has a teaser trailer, and the reaction shows how easily a show can squander its success.
The season will start on 30 October, and Netflix just released the below teaser that showcases Geralt of Rivia fighting off a wraith. He's played, for the first time, by Liam Hemsworth, who's replacing Henry Cavill after the latter star left the show gracefully but dramatically, with rumours of creative differences swirling.
The scene isn't very long, and we don't get more than a look at who Geralt is travelling with, but it does show that Hemsworth will be taking up the mantle as left by Cavill – he's going all in on the stunts, and seems to be doing his own fighting. There's some good sword-swinging, and he gets dragged nice and far by this gruesome ghost, but the reality is that it's not a long enough look to really see how he's doing.
If this is any indication of how the show will tackle the recasting, though, it looks like it'll just brush past it (and, to be fair, there aren't many other options for it). The bigger question for me is whether there's any hype for the new season at this point. The moment Cavill announced he was leaving, The Witcher's future came into question, and the Hemsworth casting didn't thrill all of its fans.
The comments under this teaser are an indication for now, and they're quite a mixed bag. Many fans are open to Hemsworth's version of the character, but it's fair to say there's quite a lot of scepticism about the show's direction. One comment with over 12,000 likes said: "Remember guys: don't blame Liam, blame the Producers."
That's not a great sentiment to be fielding ahead of a major show returning, and it'll be fascinating to see how Netflix handles the hype cycle for the franchise ahead of that release date. Will its stars be shielded from awkward interviews about recasting, or will they just have to face it all head on? Time will tell!
