It’s a bit of a transitional period for The Witcher. As Liam Hemsworth takes on the role of Geralt of Rivia, Netflix is closing doors on the franchise.
Netflix announced this week that The Witcher will end after Season 5 and now comes word that the streamer has also canned two spinoffs. The Rats, which had already begun filming, is no longer being released, nor is the planned kid’s animated show.
The Rats was a prequel series that followed the Rats, introduced in the final episode of Season 3. Little was known about the entire plot, but it was said to explore how they met and life before Ciri.
Netflix never acknowledged The Rats, even though it was filmed in 2023. The cast included Ben Radcliffe (Giselher), Christelle Elwin (Mistle), Fabian McCallum (Kayleigh), Aggy K. Adams (Iskra), Juliette Alexandra (Reef), Connor Crawford (Asse), Dolph Lundgren (Brehen), Deoudone van der Merwe (Juniper), Morgan Santo (Dulcie), and Stevel Marc (Lord Ridot).
Little was known about the untitled animated show announced in 2021, but given that the Sirens of the Deep anime is also coming to a close, it’s time to shut the door on whatever children’s show they had planned.
Production has already begun on The Witcher Season 4. The two final seasons will be filmed back-to-back, with Hemsworth closing out the era of Netflix and The Witcher.
Check out a small teaser below…
It's official, The Witcher season 4 is in production. But that's not all, we're already planning season 5, which will be the final season and bring this epic show to a fitting conclusion. See you on The Continent. pic.twitter.com/c0ilUCWYkF
— The Witcher (@witchernetflix) April 18, 2024
Hemsworth joins a cast that includes Anya Chalotra, Freya Allan, and Joey Batey as Geralt’s allies, Yennefer, Ciri, and Jaskier, respectively. The synopsis for the upcoming season reads:
After the shocking, Continent-altering events that close out Season 3, the new season follows Geralt, Yennefer, and Ciri, who are separated and traversing the war-ravaged Continent and its many demons. 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.