The Witcher season 4 has wrapped filming already as the Netflix show prepares for its its small screen return. While work is still ongoing on the fifth and final season (these were filmed back-to-back), all signs are pointing towards the White Wolf's return not being too far in the distance. There's a lot of anticipation this time around as well because we're about to be introduced to a brand new Geralt of Rivia.
Following Henry Cavill's mysterious exit from the show, Liam Hemsworth has taken up the mantle of the iconic monster hunter. We've seen some early shots of him costume but we can't wait to see what he brings to the iconic character when the fantasy show returns. We've got everything you need to know about that, as well as a whole host of details on the cast, potential plot, and speculated release date of the show.
So grab your sword and mount your stead, we're about to get into everything you need to know about The Witcher season 4.
The Witcher season 4 release date speculation
Netflix has confirmed that The Witcher season 4 will be released in 2025. However, an exact date for the show has yet to be confirmed by the streaming platform.
Filming has wrapped on the show. Freya Allan bid farewell to her castmates on Instagram in late October, while new lead actor Liam Hemsworth offered some updates on the filming schedule. "I’ve got about three more weeks after this week of shooting;" Hemsworth said in early October 2024, during an interview in Live With Kelly and Mark. "So we've been shooting now about eight months. Three more weeks and then we break for about four months and then come back next year and do another eight months," he added, revealing additional details about the filming schedule for The Witcher season 5.
As both The Witcher season 4 and season 5 were filmed back-to-back as the final two seasons of the Netflix series, it's a bit harder to work out when the first of these will be arriving based on production dates. But given that we're now well into 2025 and there's been no trailer yet, we'd expect it won't arrive until earliest late summer/early fall 2025.
The Witcher season 4 cast
The Witcher season 4 cast will see a mix of newcomers and returning cast when it hits Netflix in 2025. For the complete list of who's set to star, read on below.
- Ciri - Freya Allan
- Yennefer - Anya Chalotra
- Jaskier - Joey Batey
- Regis - Laurence Fishburne
- Sharlto Copley - Leo Bonhart
- James Purefoy - Skellan
- Danny Woodburn - Zoltan
- Fringilla - Mimi Ndiweni
- Cahir - Eamon Farren
- Francesca - Mecia Simson
- Triss - Anna Shaffer
- Dara - Wilson Mbomio
- Istredd - Royce Pierreson
- Sabrina Glevissig - Therica Wilson-Read
- Vilgefortz - Mahesh Jadu
- Stregobor - Lars Mikkelsen
- Dijkstra - Graham McTavish
- Phillipa - Cassie Clare
- Nilfgaardian Emperor Emhyr - Bart Edwards
- Radovid - Hugh Skinner
- Milva - Meng'er Zhang
- Giselher - Ben Radcliffe
- Mistle - Christelle Elwin
- Kayleigh - Fabian McCallum
- Iskra - Aggy K. Adams
- Reef - Juliette Alexandra
- Asse - Connor Crawford
As well as Henry Cavill's exit from the show as Geralt of Rivia, some other cast members won't be returning. Tissaia (MyAnna Buring), Lydia (Aisha Fabienne Ross), Filavandrel (Tom Canton), Artorius (Terence Maynard), Gallatin (Robbie Amell), and Rience (Sam Woolf) all died in season 3. Meanwhile, Kim Bodnia, who played Geralt's mentor Vesemir has also pulled out due to scheduling conflicts.
Who is playing Geralt of Rivia in The Witcher season 4?
Yes. It was confirmed that Liam Hemsworth, the star of The Hunger Games films (aka the best action movies of all time), will replace Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia.
Hemsworth confirmed his casting through Instagram. In the social post, he wrote: "As a Witcher fan, I’m over the moon about the opportunity to play Geralt of Rivia. Henry Cavill has been an incredible Geralt, and I’m honoured that he’s handing me the reins and allowing me to take up the White Wolf’s blades for the next chapter of his adventure."
"Henry, I’ve been a fan of yours for years and was inspired by what you brought to this beloved character," Hemsworth continued. "I may have some big boots to fill, but I’m truly excited to be stepping into The Witcher world."
There's been some speculation about how this recasting might happen in terms of the story. I mean, Cavill and Hemsworth don't look that similar, right? Well, one of the show's producers implies a potential multiverse.
Speaking to RadioTimes.com, executive producer Tomek Bagiński said: "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."
However, this is in direct contradiction to what another producer previously told us about how the show approaches multiverses. "There are no different versions," Declan de Barra told GamesRadar+ back in late 2022. "They may have changed in terms of their character arc and how long they've lived and what they're doing on these other worlds, but it's the same person. It’s not like there are two versions of Jaskier. It’s straight up that there’s one version of Yennefer, one version of everybody." So we'll just have to wait and see on that one...
Bagiński has also shared with other outlets that he's seen Hemsworth in the full Geralt getup too, and he looks "awesome". This means the actor is all set to go, and considering the season is currently filming, we are at the point of no return. Sorry, Cavill fans.
The Witcher season 4 plot
We now have a synopsis for The Witcher season 4, and it sounds very intriguing. Per Neftlix, this 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."
While we don't have any more specific plot details other than that, that doesn't mean we don't have an idea about what's coming up next in the fantasy world.
Thanks to season 3 finale, we know there are plenty of plot details that need to be tied up. First of all, there's The Rats storyline as Ciri has now joined the group of young criminals. We know there's been rumblings of a spin-off show featuring them, but we expect this also to feature in the fourth season.
Just going by the trajectory of the books, The Witcher season 4 will likely deal with the bulk of Baptism of Fire, the third of Andrzej Sapkowski's novels. We won't go into major plot spoilers here, but it revolves around Geralt becoming involved in a new conflict between two warring parties, while Ciri finds her place among The Rats.
Speaking about her character's future to SFX, actor Allan said of why they brought in more stunts for her. "If we are not seeing her do anything yet, and then in season four she is going and joining a gang of killing Rats, it’s not really going to add up," she said. "I wanted it to feel like she started to use that training and put that into real life, although she’s not killing anyone yet, or shouldn’t be." Now she's going by the name Falka too, expect to see a different kind of iteration of her going forward...
Geralt and Yennefer's task is a bit more straightforward, they're going to be trying to find Ciri and protect her from harm. Although Yen will undoubtedly also be busy trying to rebuild the damage done in the wake of the Aretuza bloodbath, and the loss of her mentor Tissaia.
Meanwhile in Redania, Prince Radovid has now become King Radovid (which is probably not good news for Jaskier). Then there's Vilgefortz and Emhyr who think they've managed to bring Ciri home once and for all, but well she looks a little different... We can't wait to see how all of this plays out.
For more on the show, check out our guides to the best Netflix movies and all the upcoming movies heading our way. Or, if you are a fan of The Witcher games, check out our list of the best games like The Witcher 3 to play right now.
