The Witcher Season 4 Becomes Yet Another Strikes Victim, Gets Delayed
Liam Hemsworth is still a long way from appearing as Geralt of Rivia.
2023 is proving a turbulent year for pop culture. After members of the Writers Guild of America failed to resolve a dispute with the major studios and streaming services represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, many of them took to the picket lines to demand better working conditions and fairer pay. Then in mid-July, SAG-AFTRA members joined them, bringing the industry to an almost complete halt.
Now the news broke that the next project to fall victim to the dispute between writers, actors and producers is Netflix's upcoming Season 4 of The Witcher. The series has already faced its fair share of controversy due to the general belief that it's been a rather poor adaptation of the source material and Henry Cavill's departure. The show now risks sinking further into obscurity (or, if you prefer, teleporting to the Korath Desert).
Despite widespread backlash from both fans and critics, Netflix has no plans to cancel the show. Even though the ratings for the third season were the lowest in the show's history (for instance, the penultimate episode's IMDb score was a paltry 4.3), the streaming service has announced the show's been renewed for seasons 4 and 5.
Season 4 was slated to start filming in September and wrap up in May 2024. However, according to Redanian Intelligence, those dates have now been pushed back to late 2024, significantly delaying the show's release.
While the reasons for the delay remain undisclosed, it's fairly evident that it must have been caused by the ongoing strikes by American writers and actors. Although The Witcher is an international project with most of the cast and crew being British, Netflix may have concerns about British actors and writers showing solidarity with their American colleagues. However, it's reasonable to assume that the primary reason is the casting of Liam Hemsworth, who replaced Henry Cavill as Geralt.
Even though Hemsworth is Australian, his current career has primarily been in the US, making him a member of SAG-AFTRA, which has prohibited actors from participating in major studio projects until the dispute with AMPTP is resolved.
Therefore, even if the strikes conclude by the end of this year and filming commences in January 2024, Season 4 will not be out until at least early 2025, given that filming and post-production on the previous season also took over a year.
Source: Redanian Intelligence.