The Witcher season 4: everything we know about the Netflix show's return (release date, trailer, cast, plot)

The Witcher season 4 is almost here. The Netflix fantasy show's latest installment is set to debut on October 30 so, if you're gearing up for its return, you'll want to catch up on what we know about it.

In this guide, I've rounded up the latest information on The Witcher's fourth season. You'll get the lowdown on its release format, extensive cast, story details, trailer, and the series' fifth and final season from this point on. Proceed with caution if, for whatever reason, you haven't watched all three seasons so far, then.

The Witcher season 4 release date

As I mentioned above, The Witcher season 4 will make its Netflix bow on October 30. Its release date was confirmed in mid-September and came almost three years after Netflix renewed The Witcher for a fourth season.

Unlike its forebear's two-part arrival on the world's best streaming service, The Witcher 4 will air in full on launch day. That means each of its eight chapters will drop on October 30.

The Witcher season 4 trailer

The Witcher: Season 4 | Official Trailer | Netflix - YouTube

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It took a while to arrive, but the first trailer for The Witcher season 4 was released in mid-October. Predictably, it teased more gory action, inter- and intra-politicking between The Continent's various factions, and reminded us where we left Geralt, Yennefer, and Ciri after last season's finale.

Before then, we were only treated to a new clip (see below) that revealed Liam Hemsworth's Geralt of Rivia in action for the first time. That video arrived almost 18 months after we received our first official glimpse of Hemsworth's Geralt in The Witcher 4's first-look teaser.

The Witcher: Season 4 | Official Teaser | Netflix - YouTube

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The Witcher season 4 confirmed cast

Per Netflix, here's the full – and lengthy! – cast list for The Witcher season 4:

• Liam Hemsworth as Geralt of Rivia
• Anya Chalotra as Yennefer of Vengerberg
• Freya Allen as Princess Ciri of Cintra
• Joey Batey as Jaskier
• Laurence Fishburne as Regis
• Eamon Farron as Cahir
• Anna Shaffer as Triss Merigold
• Mimî M. Khayisa as Fringilla
• Cassie Clare as Philippa Reinhart
• Mahesh Jadu as Vilgefortz
• Meng’er Zhang as Milva
• Graham McTavish as Dijkstra
• Royce Pierreson as Istredd
• Mecia Simson as Francesca
• Sharlto Copley as Leo Bonhart
• Danny Woodburn as Zoltan
• Jeremy Crawford as Yarpen
• Bart Edwards as Emhyr
• Hugh Skinner as Prince Radovid
• James Purefoy as Skellen
• Christelle Elwin as Mistle
• Fabian McCallum as Kayleigh
• Juliette Alexandra as Reef
• Ben Radcliffe as Giselher
• Connor Crawford as Asse
• Aggy K. Adams as Iskra
• Linden Porco as Percival Schuttenbach
• Therica Wilson-Reid as Sabrina
• Rochelle Rose as Margarita
• Safiyya Ingar as Keira

Unsurprisingly, the biggest casting news is that of Hemsworth, who was confirmed to be replacing Henry Cavill as the titular character alongside the the show's season 4 renewal.

Cavill and showrunner Lauren S. Hissrich haven't publicly commented on why he left but, in December 2022, Hissrich told me that she "fully understood" fans' concerns over Cavill's departure. The series' cast has since claimed Hemsworth will change The Witcher for good, too, due to his ability to present Geralt in a more emotionally vulnerable light.

Hemsworth isn't the only newcomer in season 4. Last January, The Matrix and John Wick alumnus Laurence Fishburne was confirmed to be playing fan-favorite character Regis, a sophisticated and wise barber-surgeon with a mysterious past. Copley, Purefoy, and Woodburn were added to the show's roster in early April.

Elsewhere, Radcliffe, Elwin, McCallum, Adams, Crawford, and Alexandra's characters make up The Rats.

A gang of teen tearaways, they were introduced in season 3 – you can read more about them in my Witcher season 3 ending explained article – but weren't expected to feature heavily this season. Indeed, there were rumors that The Rats would get their own spin-off, which would revolve around their adventures with Ciri, who joined their crew in last season's finale.

However, while that series was reportedly shelved (per What's on Netflix) in late 2024, it might be released as a special movie-length episode alongside season 4. It's possible, then, that this project, which Redanian Intelligence says is called The Rats: A Witcher's Tale, might be worth streaming first so you're fully aware of their place in the wider Witcher-Verse and how they help to set up Ciri's arc in this season's story. Speaking of which...

The Witcher season 4 plot details

Full spoilers follow for The Witcher season 3.

Here's this season's official plot synopsis: "After the shocking, Continent-altering events that close out season 3, the new season follows Geralt, Yennefer, and Ciri who are faced with traversing the war-ravaged Continent and its many demons apart from each other. If they can embrace and lead the groups of misfits they find themselves in, they have a chance of surviving the baptism of fire – and finding one another again."

In a Netflix press release, the streaming giant also revealed season 4 would adapt the final three novels in Andrzej Sapkowski's book series: Baptism of Fire, The Tower of the Swallow, and Lady of the Lake. You can find out how to read The Witcher novels in order, too, if you want to get a head start on this season's major plot points.

I won't spoil events depicted in those novels here, but I am going to discuss major season 3 spoilers from now on. So, consider this your final warning if you still haven't seen it!

Following The Witcher season 3's explosive events, the series' main trio – Geralt, Ciri, and Yennefer – have been scattered to the wind. So, where will we find each one at the start of this season?

Where Geralt is concerned, last season's finale revealed the mutant monster hunter – who, thanks to the dryads and Yennefer, had largely recovered from the life-threatening wounds he sustained at Vilgefortz's hands – has set off to rescue Ciri.

Accompanied by Jaskier and Milva – the beginnings of the group known as the Hanza, according to Hissrich (per Netflix Tudum) – Geralt is heading to Nilfgaard. He believes the nefarious emperor Emhyr has been reunited with Ciri – Emhyr's daughter, don't forget – which, to put it mildly, Geralt isn't happy about.

Fascinating as it'll be to see Geralt and Emhyr cross paths once more – remember, Emhyr was the individual (then known as Duny) that Geralt helped in season 1 – Ciri hasn't returned to NIlfgaard.

Season 3 episode 8 showed Emhyr had been duped into believing she had. Unbeknownst to him, though, Teryn – the Vilgefortz-brainwashed Ciri lookalike that Geralt met in season 3 episode 2 – is masquerading as Cintra's princess. How long will it be until Emhyr and Geralt realize the truth and set off to find the real Ciri?

Speaking of Emhyr and Princess Pavetta's magically powerful daughter, Ciri escaped the labyrinthine Korath Desert and is now traveling – under the guise of her 'Falka' alias – with The Rats.

As I mentioned earlier, this group of bandits (with Ciri in tow) was supposed to star in The Witcher's next TV spin-off, which is now expected to be released as a standalone episode. Nevertheless, we should see Ciri traverse The Continent alongside her new friends in the early part of the forthcoming season.

We'll also learn if she's relinquished control of her incredibly potent abilities. "Did we want her to choose to give up her powers – meaning that she has them, but she’s not going to access them because she wants to rid herself of her prior identity?" Hissrich teased to Tudum. "Or, did she actually magically relinquish those powers and she no longer has access to them? You’ll have to watch Season 4 to wait and see which is true."

As for Yennefer, she's returned to Aretuza to establish a new Sorcerers Guild. Known as the Lodge of Sorceresses, it'll be formed in the wake of the Brotherhood's collapse during the brutal Thanedd Coup in last season's final three episodes. Yennefer will be dealing with the death of long-time mentor and maternal figure Tissaia, too, who killed herself following said coup. Don't be surprised if Aretuza's new leader eventually joins the hunt to track down Ciri, though, especially as the pair have grown closer over the past two seasons.

There are plenty of other side stories that need expanding upon.

With Philippa and Dijsktra installing Prince Radovid as a puppet king on Redania's throne – Philippa murdered the former monarch Vizimir after he blamed her for the failed Thanedd Coup – we can expect one of The Continent's four major kingdoms to take on a bigger antagonistic role in season 4.

Meanwhile, Francesca will be gunning for revenge against Emhyr and Nilfgaard for the role that they played in her baby's death, which former Nilgaardian sorceress Fringilla accidentally revealed in season 3 episode 8.

Oh, and we need to learn what's become of Vilgefortz his role in The Continent's most harrowing events of recent times. Judging by his brief appearance in this season's official trailer, he's mostly recovered from the wounds he sustained when Ciri inadvertently destroyed the Tower of Tor Lara in season 3 episode 7, and he'll still have an integral part to play in proceedings.

"We want people to go back and start looking at all of the clues and breadcrumbs that we have laid out to see how these two people align," Hissrich said. "Because, clearly, there’s a lot more going on with Emhyr, Vilgefortz, and their past – and their future."

Will The Witcher return for more seasons?

Yes, but only one more. As the above X/Twitter post confirmed last April, The Witcher season 4 is the precursor to the fifth and final season, which was reportedly filmed alongside the forthcoming chapter.

In a statement published at the time of the announcement, Hissrich said: "It is with huge pride that we begin shooting our penultimate [aka the fourth] season of The Witcher with a stellar cast, including some exciting new additions, led by Liam Hemsworth as Geralt of Rivia. We’re thrilled to be able to bring Andrzej Sapkowski’s books to an epic and satisfying conclusion [with season 5]. 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."

The revelation that The Witcher will end after five seasons isn't a huge surprise. Indeed, Hissrich previously said she contemplated ending the series after Cavill's departure (per GamesRadar).

It's the double-edged sword of the show's declining popularity and critical reception, though, that appears to have had a major say on Netflix's decision to bring it to a close. The Witcher's Rotten Tomatoes scores reveal how critics and general viewers have received each season with varying levels of positivity. Meanwhile, the 30% drop in viewership between The Witcher season 2 and The Witcher season 3 proves it's not as successful as it once was.

It's unclear what the future holds for Netflix's Witcher-Verse, too. With its latest animated film offering The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep being met with with mixed to negative ratings on Rotten Tomatoes earlier this year, it might be that The Witcher season 4 and its sequel will bring the streamer's live-action adaptation of Sapkowski's works to a permanent end.

For more Netflix TV-based coverage, read our guides on Stranger Things season 5, One Piece season 2, Emily in Paris season 5, and Bridgerton season 4.