Netflix (via IGN) has released the first clip from the fourth season of The Witcher, which will mark Liam Hemsworth's debut as Geralt of Rivia following Man of Steel star Henry Cavill's surprise departure from the fantasy adventure series.
In the clip, we see the enigmatic vampire known as Regis (Laurence Fishburne) using his abilities to free Geralt and Jaskier from their chains.
Hemsworth spoke about being offered the lead role in the series during a new interview with IGN.
“I was on set of shooting a film called Land of Bad, this is at the end of 2022, and my agent just asked me, said, ‘You know, this one's kind of come out of nowhere, but how do you feel about stepping on as The Witcher, and I was shocked.”
Showrunner Lauren Hissrich also weighed-in on the recast.
“When we were looking at who potentially could fill the shoes of Geralt, there is a physicality that has to be present,” Hissrich explained. “You need someone who you can imagine can excel at these action scenes, who has such a physical presence that they could be both intimidating in the story, but also, Geralt has a huge emotional side as well… What I really loved about Liam's work that I had seen is that he was able to organically blend those two things. He didn't have physical scenes and then emotional scenes. He was able to really carry this specific, I guess I call it soul. He has a soul that he brings into the role… To have that present even through action scenes when he's fighting monsters, and it's the same thing that's present when he's having conversations with Ciri or with Yennefer, that was a really special thing that we were able to capture. And when I had watched some of his work, specifically going back to Hunger Games, that's something that I felt from him.”
Check out the preview below, along with some new character posters featuring the season's principal players.
In The Witcher season 4, Geralt, Yennefer, and Ciri find themselves separated by a raging war and countless enemies. As their paths diverge and their goals sharpen, they stumble on unexpected allies eager to join their journeys. And if they can accept these found families, they just might have a chance at reuniting for good.
The cast also includes Anya Chalotra as Yennefer of Vengerberg, Freya Allan as Princess Cirilla of Cintra, Joey Batey as Jaskier, Laurence Fishburne as Regis, Meng’er Zhang as Milva, Sharlto Copley as Leo Bonhart, and James Purefoy as Skellen.
The Witcher season 4 premieres on Netflix on October 30.