Netflix Sets The Witcher Season 5's Fate
The final season of The Witcher was expected to premiere in 2026
Since 2019, The Witcher fans have enjoyed ups and downs as Netflix adapted Andrzej Sapkowski's book series into live-action and animated series. With season 4 of The Witcher reaching a nadir, as Henry Cavill stepped down as Geralt of Rivia and Liam Hemsworth stepped in, fans have been hopeful that the fifth and final season could turn things around — or at least finally wrap up Geralt's live-action story.
Alas, the final season of Netflix's The Witcher has been quietly delayed.
The Witcher season 5 won't make 2026
While the show was previously expected to return in 2026, based on Netflix's marketing materials and the show's shooting schedule, The Witcher season 5 is now slated for a 2027 release, according to an August report from What's On Netflix.
Seasons 4 and 5 were produced and filmed back-to-back, according to a report from Screen Rant. Showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich said last year that the show's writers treated "season 4 and 5 as one large story."
"We knew we had to break it up in terms of how it would be launched on Netflix, but truly it’s the story of this family journey back together, and I think when we’re choosing specifically what details to include from the books, we look for a really sort of diverse sort of swath of things," Hissrich said, adding, "And at the end of the day, it has to be 16 narrative episodes that feel cohesive."
Season 4 of The Witcher represented a low point for the live-action fantasy series, which received some of its worst critical reviews ever. Some viewers also turned on the show after protagonist Geralt was recast.
The Witcher debuted on Netflix in 2019, with Henry Cavill in the lead role of Geralt of Rivia. The show also stars Anya Chalotra as Yennefer of Vengerberg, Freya Allan as Ciri, Eamon Farren as Cahir Mawr Dyffryn aep Ceallach (aka Black Knight), and Joey Batey as Jaskier. Cavill stepped away from the series in 2022, with Liam Hemsworth (The Hunger Games, Independence Day: Resurgence) replacing him.
Cavill is now busying himself with bringing the Warhammer 40,000 franchise to Prime Video.
The Witcher fans will have something else to look forward to in the coming years: CD Projekt Red's The Witcher 4, which stars Ciri as its primary protagonist and is planned to kick off a new trilogy of games. There's also the recently released The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — Remastered, an updated version of the award-winning role-playing game.