Once upon a time, The Witcher was being held up as Netflix’s answer to Game of Thrones. The first season in 2019 saw record viewing figures, with particular praise directed to Henry Cavill’s lead performance as stoic monster-slayer Geralt of Rivia. Since then, the plan has been somewhat derailed.
The second season shoot was thrown into chaos by COVID-19 and an injury to Cavill and since then, things have only gotten worse. Rumors spread of a split between Cavill and the showrunners and, whatever actually went on behind the scenes, Cavill has now departed the show and Liam Hemsworth has been recast as Geralt.
Now, we have nothing against Liam Hemsworth, but it’s safe to say this is something of a downgrade. But a new report indicates he may be swinging the twin swords for just two seasons.
The Witcher fan site Redanian Intelligence reports that the show will end after season five, which will be shot back-to-back with season four. New episodes may be a long time coming, as season four is said to be early in development and writing isn’t expected to finish until the summer.
Cavill’s final performance as Geralt in season three is currently in post-production and is expected to air on Netflix over the summer. Will audiences still turn up after all the bad press surrounding the show and the critically lambasted spinoff show, Blood Omen? We hope so, as despite everything, Andrzej Sapkowski’s unique world remains fascinating, even if the backstage drama is getting a bit distracting.