Diksha Sundriyal
The fourth season of Netflix’s ‘The Witcher’ shuffles the board by sending the three main characters in completely different directions. As they chart their own paths away from each other, Geralt, Ciri, and Yennefer find a new family while going through the challenges that shape their destiny. Yennefer, particularly, goes through a difficult time as she tries to defeat Vilgefortz. With a lot of mages having already joined the villain, her army is down in numbers, which is why she is happy to get help from the Witchers. This brings Geralt’s mentor and father-figure, Vesemir, into the picture, but he looks significantly different than before. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Vesemir’s Casting Change was Caused Due to Scheduling Conflicts
While Vesemir is an important part of Geralt’s storyline, he doesn’t appear in ‘The Witcher’ until its second season. This is when Geralt takes Ciri to Kaer Morhen for her training. In Season 2, the role is played by Danish actor, Kim Bosnia. Known for his role in shows like ‘The Bridge’ and ‘Killing Eve,’ the actor brought forth Vesemir’s charisma and presented the emotional core of the character through his relationship with Geralt. After Kaer Morhen is destroyed, with almost all Witchers killed, Vesemir goes out of the picture and does not appear in the third season. For a while, the show’s creators thought that would be the last they saw of him. But then, a storyline in the fourth season sparked their interest in bringing him back.
While Bodnia would have liked to return to the world of ‘The Witcher,’ he has already taken up other projects that demanded his time. In particular, he faced a major scheduling conflict with Joseph Kosinski’s ‘F1,’ in which he plays Kaspar Smolinski. Reportedly, the problem arose due to the 2023 writers’ and actors’ strike, which led to a pause in filming of the Apple TV+ movie. Once the strikes were resolved and the filming resumed, Bodnia’s schedule was too jam-packed to accommodate ‘The Witcher.’ The show’s creator, Lauren Schmidt Hissrich, revealed that Bodnia was “devastated” because he “loved playing Vesemir.” However, she understood that his commitment to ‘F1’ was more important, and despite several efforts, he couldn’t find a way around the schedule. Bodnia’s departure opened the door for a new actor, who was subsequently cast in the role by Peter Mullan.
The veteran actor is known for his work in fantasy series like ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’ and ‘Outlander: Blood of My Blood.’ His other notable roles include films such as ‘Trainspotting’ and ‘Children of Men,’ as well as TV shows like ’Westworld’ and ‘Ozark.’ Calling him an “utter professional,” Hissrich revealed that Mullan brought his own twist to the character while also trying to stay faithful to Bodnia’s interpretation of the character. He asked questions like “What do you want me to carry over? What do you want me to bring new?” and tried to emulate Bodnia’s accent to maintain continuity for the character. With this, the seasoned actor brought the gravitas of the character, who, despite his rare appearances, proved to be an important part of the Season 4 storyline. The tragic end to his story adds more meaning to his presence in the show’s penultimate season.
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