Now that The Witcher season 3’s first batch of episodes have premiered on Netflix, audiences may be eager to know whether the show has been renewed for season 4. Recent experience has taught us all that renewals can be hard to come by at Netflix, even for some of its best and most popular shows, and fantasy projects in particular are expensive to produce.
Since The Witcher season 1 premiered on Netflix in December 2019, the streaming service has treated the world of The Witcher as its flagship fantasy IP, producing plenty of other content—including a prequel miniseries titled The Witcher: Blood Origin, an anime The Witcher movie, and numerous behind-the-scenes documentaries. The Witcher has, so far, been quite the successful venture. So has that success translated into a season 4 renewal?
Will The Witcher return for season 4?
Don’t worry The Witcher fans, the show has already been renewed for season 4. In October 2022, Netflix officially announced The Witcher‘s renewal—and the show has reportedly even been renewed for season 5. In an interview with Deadline, The Witcher‘s casting director Sophie Holland mentioned that filming for season 5 is due to get underway as soon as filming for season 4 has been completed. However, take this with a grain of salt; though Netflix officially announced the season 4 renewal, it has not yet announced season 5.
One big issue Netflix will have to contend with in The Witcher season 4 (and possibly season 5) is Henry Cavill’s exit from the show. At the same time as The Witcher‘s fourth season was announced, Henry Cavill revealed that he’s leaving the series. He will be replaced by one Liam Hemsworth, best known for his role as Gale in The Hunger Games films. But Henry Cavill’s portrayal of the titular Witcher, Geralt of Rivia, is one of the best aspects of the show. It remains to be seen whether audiences will respond as well to Hemsworth’s portrayal of the character.
Additionally, some fans feel that the show has strayed too far from the source material. A few of the writers for Netflix’s The Witcher adaptation expressed their dislike for Andrzej Sapkowski’s novels and the franchise’s video games, which likely contributed to these issues. It’s even been speculated that this is one of the reasons Cavill, a die-hard The Witcher fan himself, decided to leave the show.
For now, audiences will have to wait a few more weeks for The Witcher season 3, volume 2, which drops on Netflix on July 27. But at least if the season ends on a cliffhanger, we can rest assured this version of The Witcher‘s story will continue.
(featured image: Netflix)
