The Witcher: 10 Reasons To Be Optimistic About Season 4

Dec. 14, 2024, 5:40 p.m.

Movies

The Witcher: 10 Reasons To Be Optimistic About Season 4

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Rumors, theories, and predictions for season 4 of Netflix's The Witcher make it clear that audiences are conflicted, and with no release date announced yet, much of that speculation is turning into complaints. With some notable villains already having been killed off, there are concerns about some of The Witcher season 4's new characters and how they'll fit into the plot. And of course, there's the issue of Liam Hemsworth replacing Henry Cavill as Geralt.

Still, with the little that has been leaked about new characters and locations, there are reasons to be excited about the upcoming season. There's also a chance that season 4 may fix The Witcher's pacing issues the show has struggled with in past seasons. It's important to find positive things to focus on among all the naysaying, and here are some of the most exciting things to look forward to in The Witcher.

10 Laurence Fishburne's Casting Is Undoubtedly Exciting For The Witcher Season 4

Now Morpheus Can Be A Vampire Without Having To Involve Marvel Comics

Laurence Fishburne has been cast as Regis, who has long been a favorite character for both fans of the books and CD Projekt Red's video games, where the vampire appeared in The Witcher 3's Blood and Wine expansion despite his apparent death in the novels. Having him appear in the show is exciting enough, but the casting of a phenomenal actor like Laurence Fishburne is an even bigger win for a show that has needed the buzz of a big-ticket actor to bolster faith in the project after Henry Cavill's departure.

9 Liam Hemsworth As Geralt Actually Makes A Lot Of Sense

Geralt's New Reason To Live Deserves A New Actor

While the concerns about Henry Cavill leaving The Witcher are certainly valid, as he clearly had a lot of passion for the project, Liam Hemsworth is a solid choice for replacing the Superman star, especially given the rumors that Cavill's departure was less than amicable. Hemsworth is an experienced and talented actor in his own right, with his roles in the Hunger Games series and action films like Killerman serving as examples of his ability to play stern protagonists.

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It's true that no one will be able to deliver a single expletive with the same weary resentment that Henry Cavill did, but Geralt as a character is so much more than those moments of monosyllabic frustration. Liam Hemsworth will bring a new energy to Geralt at a time in the character's development that feels appropriate. This is no longer the grizzled, world-weary Geralt of season 1, who simply lived his life as a Witcher because he had to; now Geralt is a man who has, in Ciri, found a reason to really live.

8 Jaskier Will Be Torn Between All The People He Loves

Being Torn Between Family, Love, And Friendship May Shatter The Bard's Resolve

As much as Jaskier and Geralt's catty banter has always been a huge part of The Witcher's heart, everyone's favorite bard has deserved a genuine emotional arc of his own, and season 3 gave us a taste of that as Jaskier started to build a relationship with then-Prince Radovid. Now that Radovid is King of Redania, though, he can't follow through on his plan to help Jaskier find his family, which will likely only make things more difficult for both of them.

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Season 4 will hopefully continue to raise the stakes here, as Radovid's duty to the crown he never wanted — and Dijkstra and Philippa waiting in the wings to pull his strings – may well put him directly in conflict with Jaskier. Meanwhile, Jaskier will be torn between his desire to find his family, his loyalty to Geralt, and his growing affection for Radovid. It's the kind of complicated emotional situation that no one imagined the bard stumbling into back in season 1, when he mostly served as Geralt's comic foil.

7 Ciri Indulges Her Darker Side With The Rats

The Princess Becomes A Thief

Season 3's finale showed Ciri finally meeting the Rats, the group of ragamuffins and refugees that she'll spend some time sheltering with as she grapples with her inner conflict over her magic. We also saw Ciri's first time killing someone, and those who have read the books will know that this is the beginning of a very dark time for the young princess, as she becomes intoxicated by this very direct form of claiming power through violence — something she has thus far only been the victim of.

Related The Witcher Season 4 Is Adapting A Key Ciri Scene (That Will Bring Her Big Trouble) The Witcher season 4 looks to be adapting a key scene from Ciri's time with the Rats that will bring major trouble for her in seasons 4 and 5.

We can look forward to seeing the Lion Cub of Cintra learn how to use her claws far more wisely this next season; her choice to call herself Falka shows that she feels ready to take her destiny into her own hands instead of relying on Geralt to save her, but it's also her unconscious admitting that part of her wants to be consumed by fire. Season 4 will see her grapple with this as she indulges her darker side with the Rats, and that will hopefully come with more phenomenal character work from actress Freya Allan.

6 Yennifer's Quest For Vengeance Against Vilgefortz Continues

Anya Chalotra Makes Getting Revenge Look Good

Yennifer's arc in season 4 is going to be phenomenal. With season 3's finale showing her taking the reins of the newly-founded Lodge of Sorceresses and setting their collective sights on revenge against the treacherous Vilgefortz – which is a major change from the books, where she was forced to pursue her revenge alone, since her fellow sorceresses still wrongly believed her to be Vilgefortz's ally – we will get to see some phenomenal magic at play as they track him down.

Anya Chalotra's best work so far in The Witcher has been the way she shows Yennifer's conflicting desires for intimacy and security. Whether it's the constant whirlwind of her feelings for Geralt, her tragic relationship with Tissaia, or her deep desire for enough power to never be afraid again, Chalotra's expressiveness as an actress shines through and breathes so much life into the character that sometimes it seems like Yen is the real main character of The Witcher. Season 4, then, will hopefully be full of moments like these as Yennifer continues to understand the difference between justice and revenge.

5 The Return Of More Witchers

Despite His Opinion To The Contrary, Geralt Has Friends And We Should See Them Be Happy Together

One of the best things season 2 of The Witcher did was show us Kaer Morhen and the Witchers that live there. It was a great way to get context on Geralt and the people who helped raise him and train him, and seeing the way their relationships with Ciri developed, for better and for worse, was an important part of her own arc.

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While the extent to which Coen and Lambert will return for season 4 is still unclear, hopefully they will appear in more than just flashbacks, and can continue to give depth and nuance to our perspective on Witchers. Unfortunately, we won't be getting any more of Kim Bodina as Vesemir in The Witcher season 4 due to his departure from the show, but Coen and Lambert were much more vivacious characters anyway.

4 Leo Bonhart And His Twisted Paternal Feelings Towards Ciri

He's Like If A Witcher Lacked Any Morality At All

Season 4 is about to introduce one of The Witcher's most sadistic villains, the bounty hunter Leo Bonhart, who will make hunting Ciri down the central focus of the rest of his life. Although contracted by two different nobles to go after Ciri, one of which wants her dead and one of which wants her captured, Bonhart will instead become obsessed with the young warrior-princess and force her into the crucible of becoming an arena fighter.

We still have a lot to look forward to as this twisted, mustachioed sadist enters Ciri's life like some dark reflection of Geralt.

While Bonhart's full arc will likely carry over into season 5, we still have a lot to look forward to as this twisted, mustachioed sadist enters Ciri's life like some dark reflection of Geralt. While not a Witcher himself, Bonhart has allegedly killed several of them, making him one of the deadliest warriors in all of The Witcher, and seeing how that violence influences Ciri over the course of the next season will be fascinating.

3 Our First Glimpse At The Tower Of The Swallow

Hopefully The Fight There Will Still Involve Ciri Killing People While Ice Skating

One major concern about The Witcher is that while there are only two seasons left of the show, there are still three books to cover: Baptism of Fire, The Tower of the Swallow, and The Lady of the Lake. It's likely that season 4 will handle Baptism and Tower, showing Geralt and his companions working to rescue Ciri, Ciri's arc with the Rats and Bonhart, Yennifer as she tracks down Vilgefortz, and hopefully conclude with Ciri entering the mysterious Tower, leaving The Lady of the Lake and its multiversal storyline in its entirety for the fifth season.

The Tower of the Swallow, or Tor Zirael in the Elder Speech, is a fascinating and ominous structure, as it is magically linked to Tor Lara at Thanedd, which was destroyed in season 3. But while Tor Lara was used as the base of operations for the Brotherhood of Sorcerers, Tor Zirael has been long abandoned, hidden by magical fog from prying eyes. Hopefully, season 4 will show us a glimpse of this mysterious structure and the portal within it that will take Ciri farther away from home than she ever thought possible.

2 The Battle For The Bridge On The Yaruga And Geralt's Knighthood

Finally, The "Of Rivia" In His Name Will Be More Than An Affectation

One of the major parts of Baptism of Fire is the Battle for the Bridge on the Yaruga, where Geralt and his companions find themselves trapped on a ferry in the Yaruga River, with Nilfgaardian soldiers on one bank, the Lyrian army on the other, and the Witcher in the middle taking fire from both sides. When Geralt and company finally make it safely to shore and aid the Lyrians in defeating the Nilfgaardians, the Lyrian queen Meve knights Geralt as a reward. Since Rivia is a part of her kingdom, it officially grants Geralt the title "of Rivia."

In the books, Geralt picks a last name at Vesemir's prodding: "Geralt Roger Eric du Haute-Bellegarde." Vesemir tells the young witcher to try something less pretentious, so he settles on "of Rivia."

Aside from the humorous way that Geralt accidentally gets his name canonized, the Battle for the Bridge is one of the most spectacular battles in The Witcher to date. While we've seen massive fights so far in the Netflix series, they've mostly involved mages to one degree or another; the Battle for the Bridge will be a chance to both see a massive conflict between armies and see Geralt, Regis, and the other warriors in their party let off the leash and do what they do best: gratuitous violence.

1 Meeting The Irrepressible Dwarven Mercenary Zoltan Chivay

If You Liked Yarpen Zigren You're Going To Love Zoltan

One of the best recurring characters in The Witcher so far has been Yarpen Zigren, the dwarven mercenary Geralt (and to a much lesser extent, Jaskier) has befriended over the years. Yarpen and his fighters first appeared in season 1, episode 6, as part of the group hired by the golden dragon Borch Three Jackdaws to defend his egg against the Reavers, and also appeared in seasons 2 and 3 to help Geralt.

The Witcher season 4 will hopefully show us another dwarf, the irrepressible Zoltan Chivay, another mercenary captain who helps Geralt and his party while they're on their way to the Yaruga. In Baptism of Fire, Zoltan gifts Geralt with a rune-enchanted dwarven sword called a sigil, and hopefully, Netflix's adaptation will embrace this moment to give us a glimpse of dwarven culture and mythology, as well as a chance to give Geralt a shiny new toy he can properly break in once he reaches the Yaruga.