Is The Witcher's Geralt Era Ending Soon? These Signs Point To Yes

Like plenty of popular fantasy stories, the "Witcher" series features a large cast of characters representing numerous disparate factions. At its center is protagonist Geralt of Rivia, the titular Witcher — a type of monster hunter — who essentially remains the single-most important character throughout every core work in the franchise. Moving forward, however, it seems like this is going to change.

Already, the end of the Geralt era is just about a sure thing for the "Witcher" video game series. Adam Kiciński, the CEO of "Witcher" video game development company CD Projekt Red, essentially confirmed this to be the case in a March 2020 interview with Eurogamer Poland. While the company is currently working on a "Witcher" sequel, he revealed that it won't be titled "The Witcher 4," implying that Geralt's story from the prior three games is over and a new character is primed to take the spotlight. This tracks with the multiple endings of the "The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt," each of which effectively concludes Geralt's storyline.

The timing of this new direction for the "Witcher" video games just so happens to coincide with Henry Cavill's departure from the "Witcher" TV series, suggesting that the franchise as a whole may be ready to distance itself somewhat from the notion that Geralt must be its star.

One point some of the key creatives behind Netflix's "Witcher" series have stressed when discussing Liam Hemsworth taking over for Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia is that his change in appearance will somehow manifest from its story. Naturally, fans have already floated theories about just how the series will explain Geralt looking like a different person as of the start of Season 4. While one popular theory suggested that a new Geralt might come from a parallel universe, executive producer Tomek Baginski hinted in an interview that Hemsworth's Geralt isn't from a multiverse. Rather, an unseen storyteller is apparently recounting the events of "The Witcher," and he implied that a new storyteller will soon take over and describe Geralt's appearance differently.

Such a narrative device could open up plenty of possibilities for "The Witcher" beyond just a new look for Geralt. Given that some viewers are unhappy about Cavill's departure, it's entirely possible that this subsequent storyteller might deemphasize Geralt's importance to their tale and focus more on the characters around him. While this is still just speculation, the fact that the "Witcher" video games are already moving away from Geralt gives the show the opportunity to do the same and hand the reigns to one or more of the numerous other complex characters in its expansive cast.