'The Witcher' Has Locked in Season Five Before Season Four Even Arrives — But That's Where It's Ending

Overview

Season four of The Witcher is officially in production, and will be followed by season five, with the next two dates with monster hunter Geralt of Rivia filming their antics back to back. Actually, make that the last two dates with Netflix's hit fantasy series. The streaming platform has also revealed that the show will come to an end with its fifth season.

So, get ready to toss a coin to your witcher again, and then one more time — but that'll be it. As previously announced, there'll be a big change when the series returns, with The Hunger Games, The Dressmaker and Independence Day: Resurgence's Liam Hemsworth taking over from Argylle's Henry Cavill as Geralt.

It was back in 2022 when audiences learned that Cavill would say goodbye to the role after three seasons — two of which had streamed at the time.

"My journey as Geralt of Rivia has been filled with both monsters and adventures, and alas, I will be laying down my medallion and my swords for season four," said Cavill in a statement.

"In my stead, the fantastic Mr Liam Hemsworth will be taking up the mantle of the White Wolf. As with the greatest of literary characters, I pass the torch with reverence for the time spent embodying Geralt and enthusiasm to see Liam's take on this most fascinating and nuanced of men. Liam, good sir, this character has such a wonderful depth to him, enjoy diving in and seeing what you can find."

Hemsworth added at the time that "as a Witcher fan I'm over the moon about the opportunity to play Geralt of Rivia".

He continued: "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. I may have some big boots to fill, but I'm truly excited to be stepping into The Witcher world."

Back then, Netflix also did what it always has with The Witcher, renewing it for another season when its next hadn't yet streamed. The same also occurred with season three before season two dropped, and with season two before season one debuted before that. That trend continues now for the last time, given that the newly announced season five will wrap up the story.

If you haven't watched the first three seasons yet but the name sounds familiar from elsewhere, that's because The Witcher is based on the short stories and novels of writer Andrzej Sapkowski — and, as well as being turned into comics, it was adapted the video game series of the same name. A Polish film and TV show also reached screens in the early 2000s, although they were poorly received. Sapkowski's last three Witcher books, aka Baptism of Fire, The Tower of the Swallow and Lady of the Lake, will form the basis of the Netflix series' final two seasons.

"It is with huge pride that we begin shooting our penultimate season of The Witcher with a stellar cast, including some exciting new additions, led by Liam Hemsworth as Geralt of Rivia," said creator and showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich to Netflix about the announcement that the show is saying goodbye.

"We're thrilled to be able to bring Andrzej Sapkowski's books to an epic and satisfying conclusion. It wouldn't be our show if we didn't push our family of characters to their absolute limit — stay tuned to see how the story ends."

Susie Allnutt, Netflix

In the Netflix effort, Cavill plays the witcher of the title, aka the part that Hemsworth is taking over. Geralt of Rivia prefers to work — aka slay beasts — alone in a realm called The Continent. But life has other plans for the lone wolf, forcing him to cross paths with powerful sorceress Yennefer of Vengerberg (Anya Chalotra, The Cypher) and young princess Ciri (Freya Allan, Baghead).

The Witcher franchise doesn't just include the show itself, but also animated flick The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf, which hit Netflix in 2021. So far, there's also prequel series The Witcher: Blood Origin, too — which takes place 1200 years before Geralt's time, spans four episodes, stars Everything Everywhere All At Once's Michelle Yeoh and arrived in 2022.

There's no sneak peek at The Witcher's fourth season yet, but here's the trailer for season three in the interim:

The Witcher's fourth season doesn't yet have a release date — we'll update you when one is announced. The show's first three seasons are currently available to stream via Netflix.

Top image: Susie Allnutt, Netflix.