Tamal Kundu
The shooting of the fourth season of Netflix’s action fantasy series ‘The Witcher’ has begun in the United Kingdom. The installment’s shooting will last until October. Created by Lauren Schmidt Hissrich, ‘The Witcher’ is based on the namesake series of books by the Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski. The narrative is set on a fictional, medieval Europe-inspired landmass known as the Continent and follows the exploits of Geralt of Rivia, the eponymous Witcher, and explores the deep connections he forms with Yennefer of Vengerberg (Anya Chalotra), a witch, and Princess Ciri of Cintra (Freya Allan).
Before the release of the third season, Netflix announced that season 4 has been officially green-lit. The fans of the show were surprised when it was reported that Liam Hemsworth (‘The Hunger Games’ film series) would take over the role of Geralt of Rivia from Henry Cavill (‘Man of Steel’). Both actors took to social media to inform the fans of the change.
“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 4,” Cavill posted on Instagram. “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.”
On the same platform, Hemsworth shared that he was excited to take up the mantle. “As a Witcher fan I’m over the moon about the opportunity to play Geralt of Rivia,” he wrote. “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.”
In May 2023, Casting director Sophie Holland revealed to Deadline that ‘The Witcher’ season 5 had been green-lit and the fourth season would be “a nice mix of new characters and returning faces.” The fourth installment is an adaptation of Sapkowski’s ‘The Lady of the Lake,’ the fifth book in ‘The Witcher’ saga. “Suddenly, at the beginning of the book, we learn that everything we’ve read so far might not have been true. It turns out that we can jump forward and backward in this narrative, change the context of what happened, etc. I see what’s happening among the fans and how rigidly they interpret what The Witcher is. But the truth is, the ways of interpretation can vary widely,” executive producer Tomek Baginski told Wyborcza, via Redanian Intelligence.
The filming for the first season took place in Hungry, Austria, Spain, and Poland. For the second season, the cast and crew used various locations in the United Kingdom, and the production endured delays because of COVID-related restrictions. Parts of season 3 were filmed in Croatia.
The success of ‘The Witcher’ has led to the development of a sprawling universe on Netflix, which includes the animated film ‘The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf,’ and the prequel miniseries ‘The Witcher: Blood Origin.’ There is also a highly successful series of video games based on Sapkowski’s books.
Read More: Do Geralt and Yennefer Die in The Witcher Season 3? [Spoiler]
