Netflix has just shared the first full trailer for The Witcher Season 4 (via SFFGazette.com), offering fans of the fantasy series their best look yet at The Hunger Games and Independence Day: Resurgence star Liam Hemsworth as the all-new, all-different Geralt of Rivia.
The actor takes over the role from Justice League star Henry Cavill, and we find Geralt once again assembling an army of adventurers. This time, he's setting out to track down his former Witcher apprentice Ciri, who we know will also appear in The Rats, a standalone special confirmed to hit Netflix the same day as the main show's penultimate season.
Oddly, Netflix hasn't really promoted the troubled spin-off, so expectations are being tempered for what was reportedly once a feature-length project or a miniseries (perhaps both, given the behind-the-scenes issues which saw Netflix execs pull the plug after seeing dailies).
Back to The Witcher, and we find Geralt, joined by Yennefer, Jaskier, and Regis, facing off against Vilgefortz's dark forces, including an ogre and a ghostly wraith.
At one point, a voice asks, "The Witcher is in a state of flux. You are becoming something new. How will you be reborn?" It's hard not to interpret that as a nod to Hemsworth taking over this role from Cavill. The actor, who is the younger brother of Thor star Chris Hemsworth, will now take Geralt's story through to its end with the upcoming Season 5.
"I’m a bit of a secret gamer," Hemsworth said in an interview with Tudum earlier today. "I was such a big fan of this character, so it was a bit of those pinch-yourself moments of walking around in this costume that a few years ago I was playing a video game of."
Despite that, he admitted to some uncertainty when The Witcher came his way. "Initially, I was pretty hesitant and unsure. It’s an odd thing to be asked to come in midway through a series like this and continue on as the lead character. But, as a fan of the video game, I felt like I could do something cool with it."
For showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich, Hemsworth was always the right man for the role. "The very first time that I met with Liam Hemsworth, in my gut, I knew that he would make a perfect Geralt for us in Season 4, because he was able to be very honest with me about the things that really resonated with him in earlier seasons, and also some things he’d like to shift."
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 includes Liam Hemsworth as Geralt of Rivia, 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.