The world of The Witcher continues to expand in videogames and TV, and in the former, a big announcement was made regarding The Witcher 4 and Ciri, which is also a good sign for the Netflix show’s future after Henry Cavill’s departure and recast. The world of The Witcher comes from the book series of Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski, and it became widely popular when it was adapted into video games. The Witcher got its first English language adaptation in 2019 thanks to Netflix, with Henry Cavill playing the title witcher, Geralt of Rivia.

The Witcher had a strong start on Netflix and was a big hit with critics and general audiences, but season 2 gained a lot of controversy due to the changes it made to the source material. Season 3 fixed some of those mistakes and improved in some parts, but The Witcher couldn’t fully recover. Season 4 is facing even bigger challenges as Cavill left The Witcher, Liam Hemsworth was cast as Geralt, and season 3 set up some dark storylines. However, the most recent The Witcher 4 reveal about Ciri can be a big lesson for the show now that Cavill is gone.

The Witcher 4’s Big Ciri Reveal Is A Great Sign For Netflix’s Adaptation

The Witcher 4 Is Going On The Right Path

While Netflix’s The Witcher prepares for its two final seasons (as it has been confirmed to end with season 5), the videogames have continued their course. The first Witcher video game was released in 2007, which got positive reviews from critics. The Witcher was followed by The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings in 2011 and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt in 2015, and they have two expansion packs and seven spin-off games. Of course, Geralt has been the main character in the videogames, but that’s about to change with the fourth entry in the main series.

The Witcher 4’s big change is that, instead of Geralt of Rivia, the main character is Ciri.

The Witcher 4 is planned to be the first installment in a new trilogy of The Witcher videogames set after the events of Wild Hunt, and its big change is that, instead of Geralt of Rivia, the main character is Ciri. The trailer for The Witcher 4 was revealed at The Game Awards 2024, but its shift to Ciri isn’t entirely surprising as the videogame series had been building towards it, and it’s a great way for them to expand Ciri’s story and the world of The Witcher.

Of course, the videogames and the Netflix series are completely unrelated, though the latter has taken some elements and inspiration from the former, but The Witcher 4’s shift from Geralt to Ciri can be the biggest lesson the show can learn and apply from the videogames, especially now that Cavill is gone and Hemsworth is taking over.

The Witcher 4’s Protagonist Shows How The Netflix Show Can Handle Henry Cavill’s Recast

Ciri Is The Key To The Witcher Without Henry Cavill

Geralt’s recast in Netflix’s The Witcher is the biggest challenge the show has faced so far, and while Hemsworth can absolutely bring a great version of Geralt of Rivia, there’s still the risk of him not being well-received by the audience. A big advantage is that the Netflix show has shared the spotlight between Geralt, Yennefer of Vengerberg (Anya Chalotra), and Ciri (Freya Allan), so there’s no risk of the show relying too much on Geralt – however, with the recast, Netflix should take note from The Witcher 4.

Focusing more on Ciri in season 4 should be an easy move for The Witcher, as season 3 pretty much set this up. The Witcher season 3 ended with a Fake Ciri being taken to the White Flame and introduced to the people of Nilfgaard as the real Princess Ciri. Meanwhile, the real Ciri is transported to the Korath desert and is later rescued by the Rats, who invite her to join them. Ciri introduces herself as “Falka” to the Rats, keeping her true identity a secret.

Through this, the show would also be taking some pressure off from Hemsworth and his version of Geralt.

All this sets up some of Ciri’s most important and darkest stories from the books, such as her time with the Rats and the White Flame’s true intentions, so shifting the focus to her in season 4 should happen naturally. Even better, through this, the show would also be taking some pressure off from Hemsworth and his version of Geralt.

Moving Away From Geralt As The Show’s Lead Will Make One Witcher Complaint Worse

The Witcher Might Not Be Able To Shake Off One Big Complaint

While shifting the focus of Netflix’s The Witcher from Geralt to Ciri would be beneficial to the show and Hemsworth, it would also make a big complaint even worse. The Witcher has faced a lot of criticism for different reasons, but the biggest one is the changes it has made to the source material. Although Ciri is a main character in the books, and a very important one, Geralt is still the lead character, and shifting the focus to Ciri in season 4 risks making this particular complaint even bigger.

However, and as mentioned above, this shift comes naturally after everything season 3 set up, so the complaint might not be that big or be there at all. The Witcher season 4 has to be smart in how it handles its Geralt recast and the biggest stories of the rest of the main characters, and this can be key to its success or failure.