Picture: Netflix
It’s a new year, and many upcoming The Witcher projects are ahead of us. One of Netflix’s big franchises remains The Witcher, and despite a lot of controversy and some big changes, Netflix has not been slowing down when it comes to expanding the Witcherverse. In this article, we’ll preview everything that Netflix has cooking for its Witcher franchise for the year 2024.
We have the production of Season 4 that has been delayed from September 2023 due to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes; we have the upcoming anime movie at the end of the year as well as one more project, which is already filmed but doesn’t have a release date.
Let’s get into it:
Production of The Witcher Season 4
Picture: Netflix
The first thing on the agenda is, of course, the filming of Season 4.
Cameras are meant to roll from March 2024 through to October as it currently stands. The season will see the debut of Liam Hemsworth as Geralt of Rivia, who will replace Henry Cavill after three seasons.
Anya Chalotra, Freya Allan, and Joey Batey will return as Yennefer, Ciri, and Jaskier, along with most of the surviving characters of Season 3.
Just recently, Netflix has officially announced that veteran actor Laurence Fishburne has joined The Witcher Season 4 as the fan-favorite high vampire and barber-surgeon Regis. Last year, Redanian Intelligence also learned that Sharlto Copley had been cast as the violent and ruthless villain Leo Bonhart, who will feature heavily in Ciri’s arc of the new season.
Picture: Netflix
The synopsis for Season 4 reads as follows:
“After the shocking, Continent-altering events that close out season three, 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.”
As a result of filming, there will be many new information drops regarding the story, filming, and casting throughout the entire year.
The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep Releasing on Netflix in Q4 2023
Picture: Netflix
At the end of the year, we’ll get to finally see the long-awaited anime The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep, which will be chronologically set between episodes 5 and 6 of Season 1 and is set to adapt the short story “A Little Sacrifice” that we never saw in live-action.
Instead of Henry Cavill or Liam Hemsworth, Netflix hired the iconic voice of none other than Doug Cockle from CD Projekt Red’s games to play Geralt of Rivia. Christina Wren has been cast to voice the beloved bard Essi Daven, with Joey Batey and Anya Chalotra reprising their roles as Jaskier and Yennefer from the main show.
Developed by Nightmare of the Wolf creators Studio Mir, the synopsis for the anime is the following:
“Geralt of Rivia, a mutated monster hunter, is hired to investigate a series of attacks in a seaside village and finds himself drawn into a centuries-old conflict between humans and merpeople. He must count on friends — old and new — to solve the mystery before the hostilities between the two kingdoms escalate into all-out war.“
Releasing in late 2024, we’ll surely see Netflix start its promotion a month or so before release.
The Rats.. maybe
The last one is a little bit odd. The Rats is a prequel about the young misfit group of the same name that were introduced in the final episode of The Witcher Season 3. The series is created by Witcher writer Haily Hall who also serves as showrunner, and directed by Shadow and Bone and The Sandman‘s Mairzee Almas.
Filming for The Rats took place across two months last year, from May to July 2023. The series is now in post-production, but given the production time, there’s a slight possibility it could be transformed into a film instead. In any case, Netflix hasn’t yet announced this project despite it being already in post-production and there’s no clear indication as to when it might be released.
The cast of The Rats includes Ben Radcliffe, Christelle Elwin , Fabian McCallum, Aggy K. Adams, Juliette Alexandra, Connor Crawford as Giselher, Mistle, Kayleigh, Iskra, Reef and Asse. Joining them are Dolph Lundgren as Brehen, Deoudone van der Merwe as Juniper among others.
A leaked synopsis by industry insider DanielRPK reads as follows:
“Six teenage thieves must rely on their criminal skills as they plan the biggest heist of their careers against the most dangerous crime ring in the kingdom.”
What do you hope to hear or see from The Witcher in 2024? Let us know in the comments.
Netflix Synopsis: "As monarchs, mages, and beasts of the Continent compete to capture her, Geralt takes Ciri into hiding, determined to protect his newly-reunited family against those who threaten to destroy it. Entrusted with Ciri’s magical training, Yennefer leads them to the protected fortress of Aretuza, where they hope to uncover more about the girl’s untapped powers; instead, they discover they’ve landed in a battlefield of political corruption, dark magic, and treachery. They must fight back, put everything on the line – or risk losing each other forever.
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