‘The Witcher’ Season 3 Gets Its First Trailer And A Curious 2-Part Release Date On Netflix

The Witcher returns to Netflix for its third—and some would argue final—season. That bit isn’t strictly true, of course. The fantasy show will continue on at Netflix even after Season 3 wraps, but without its star, Henry Cavill, in the titular role. Geralt of Rivia is being recast with Liam Hemsworth filling those impossible leather boots.

Fans of the books, games and first season of the show are in mourning, both over Cavill’s departure and over the sad state of affairs the series ended up in by the end of Season 2. Rumors that Cavill clashed with the show’s writers and showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich abound. The actor is a big fan of the games and stories and wanted the show to remain as faithful to the source material as possible. It seems that he and Hissrich may have had irreconcilable creative differences.

Other factors may have played a role in Cavill’s exit as well, including his brief return as Superman (only to be canned by incoming DC Film boss James Gunn) and is helming and starring in an upcoming Warhammer 40K series.

Still, I can’t help but be excited for the third season, even if it goes against my better judgement. Ever the critic, ever the eternal optimist. Fool me a thousand times, shame on me. Netflix dropped the upcoming season’s third trailer Tuesday and it looks quite dark and, while it shows us very little, it looks pretty good! Behold:

“Now, for the first time, I understand real fear,” Geralt says in the trailer. We see some glimpses of Yennefer (Anya Chalotra) and Ciri (Freya Allan) and what appears to be the Wild Hunt. Geralt’s sword looks pretty badass:

Along with the trailer we finally have a release date. Well, we have two release dates. Much like Stranger Things 4, The Witcher Season 3 is releasing in two parts. Volume 1—which includes the first five episodes—releases on Netflix on June 29th. Volume 2—which includes the final three episodes—drops a month later, on July 27th. I wish Netflix did this more often as it allows some anticipation to build between halves and can lead to fun fan theories and watercooler talk. There isn’t much space for fan theories in most Netflix shows, because we get the seasons all in one chunk. Hopefully Season 3 is good enough to even inspire fan theories.

As for Season 4 and beyond, I do not envy Liam Hemsworth. I’m sure he’ll do a fine job but I just don’t know how you take over this role from someone that 99% of fans loved in the part and whose departure from the project feels so politically motivated. Fans, including this critic, were pretty disappointed with the quality of Season 2. While the production budget was clearly bigger, the writing and storytelling took a major nosedive. It’s always a shame to see a series go downhill, but usually we get more than just one good season. Sigh.

I’ll be reviewing the new season here on this blog as well as on my YouTube channel. Follows are greatly appreciated!