The Witcher Season 4 Is Entering A New Era
Geralt of Rivia will be reborn.
“How will you be reborn?”
It’s a fitting question for Geralt of Rivia, the magical mutant hunter who’s spent three (going on four) seasons of The Witcher slaying monsters. The next chapter of his adventure is paving the way to the finish line, an explosive battle that will rock the Continent. But Geralt will also be reborn in other ways: with the departure of Henry Cavill, The Witcher welcomes a new Geralt in Liam Hemsworth. What will he bring to his unique take on the monster-hunter? It’s safe to say that The Witcher will never truly be the same, but Season 4 seems to be leaning into that where it counts.
It’s the beginning of the end for Geralt and his allies, but in a way, it’s the dawn of a new era. As The Witcher adapts the final three books in Andrzej Sapkowski’s fantasy series, it’s poised for a major pivot. The mission is more or less the same for Geralt — his priority is and always has been to protect the lost Princess Ciri (Freya Allan) — but he can’t continue that mission without a bit of soul searching. Season 4 is set to deliver a personal reckoning for the Witcher, along with his final chance to bring his found family back together again.
The Witcher Season 4 picks up shortly after “the Continent-altering events of Season 3,” which once again separated Geralt from Ciri and the sorceress Yennefer of Vengerberg (Anya Chalotra). Geralt is licking his wounds after a failed attempt to rescue Ciri from Emhyr (Bart Edwards), the emperor of Nilfgaard. Yennefer is mourning the demise of her mentor at Aretuza, the magical academy where she trained in sorcery. Ciri, meanwhile, has found a new home with a group of misfit teens known as the Rats.
Ideally, our three heroes won’t be scattered to the winds for much longer. In Season 4, Geralt reunites with Yennefer, now the leader of Aretuza, to find Ciri once and for all. “As their paths diverge and their goals sharpen, they encounter unexpected allies eager to join their journeys,” the official synopsis reads. “And if they can accept these found families, they just might have a chance at reuniting for good…”
“This is the beginning of a two-season journey for our family to finally reunite and be together — hopefully forever,” showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich told Tudum. Seasons 4 and 5 are being produced back-to-back, and will adapt the last three books in the Witcher saga. Hemsworth has his work cut out for him as the new Geralt, but he won’t be the only new face in The Witcher. He’s joined by Laurence Fishburne, who plays Regis, “a world-wise barber-surgeon with a mysterious past” and a beloved ally from the books.
Season 4 introduces us to Geralt’s new party, a group he needs to rescue Ciri.
Regis is one of the first new members of a group known as the Hanza, who travel with Geralt — and test his emotional and political neutrality — for the remainder of this story.
“One of the things that Geralt really grapples with … is the idea of this journey being his and his alone,” Schmidt Hissrich explained. “What Geralt realizes is that bringing this hanza together is part of what he needs to save Ciri.”
Opening up to this party is one of the bigger reckonings for Geralt in Season 4, giving the series a graceful means to relaunch. The players might have changed, but the soul of the series, ideally, remains the same. The Witcher may be in “a state of flux,” as its most recent trailer admits, but it has the opportunity to emerge as a stronger series and stick the landing in Season 5.
