Geralt of Rivia’s story has an end date on Netflix.
On Thursday, the streaming service renewed The Witcher for Season 5, but revealed that it would be the last season.
The shocking announcement comes as production is finally getting underway on The Witcher Season 4 following countless setbacks.
“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,” showrunner Lauren Hissrich shared in a statement.
“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.”
Saying goodbye to the hit fantasy drama will be tough, but at least we have two seasons that will help soften the blow.
Liam Hemsworth will lead the final two seasons of The Witcher
As Monsters and Critics previously reported, Liam Hemsworth has taken over the role of Geralt from Henry Cavill, who opted to leave the show after three seasons.
There was immediate backlash from the show’s passionate fanbase, with many threatening to boycott the Cavill-less seasons, and it seems Netflix is taking that to heart by closing the show.
The first two seasons of The Witcher were massive performers for the streaming giant, but The Witcher Season 3 was saddled with clunky storytelling and a lack of interest from diehard viewers.
The series faces an uphill battle if it wants to regain the lost fans, but perhaps the lengthy hiatus afforded the creatives enough time to right the ship and craft a way to explain why Geralt will have a different face when we next see him.
Many expected The Witcher Season 3 to wrap with a big event that set up the change, but the season ended on a low-key note that didn’t set anything planned to come after very well.
The next two seasons of The Witcher will be filmed back-to-back
Netflix has confirmed that The Witcher Season 4 and The Witcher Season 5 will be filmed back-to-back, so although we still have a long wait for the next season, the wait for the final one shouldn’t be as tedious.
As for who else will be on the cast of The Witcher Season 4, Anya Chalotra (Yennefer of Vengerberg), Freya Allan (Princess Cirilla of Cintra), and Joey Batey (Jaskier) are returning.
The cast also includes Laurence Fishburne (Regis), Eamon Farren (Cahir), Anna Shaffer (Triss Merigold), Mimî M Khayisa (Fringilla), Cassie Clare (Philippa), Mahesh Jadu (Vilgefortz), Meng’er Zhang (Milva), Graham McTavish (Dijkstra), Royce Pierreson (Istredd), Mecia Simson (Francesca), and Sharlto Copley (Leo Bonhart).
The impressive cast of The Witcher Season 4 is rounded out by Danny Woodburn (Zoltan), Jeremy Crawford (Yarpen), Bart Edwards (Emhyr), Hugh Skinner (Radovid), James Purefoy (Skellen), Christelle Elwin (Mistle), Fabian McCallum (Kayleigh), Juliette Alexandra (Reef), Ben Radcliffe (Giselher), Connor Crawford (Asse), Aggy K. Adams (Iskra), Linden Porco (Percival Schuttenbach), Therica Wilson-Read (Sabrina), Rochelle Rose (Margarita), and Safiyya Ingar (Keira).
The Witcher is currently on hiatus. Season 4 is expected to debut on Netflix in 2025.