The first full trailer for Netflix’s The Witcher Season 4 just dropped. I’ve had grave doubts about the series since Season 2, and those doubts only heightened with the even flimsier Season 3. Even if Henry Cavill had stayed on as Geralt Of Rivia, I would have had very little hope. (And it appears they were already looking to recast Cavill while Season 2 was still filming).
But with Cavill gone, things look even more grim. This trailer is the first time we hear Liam Hemsworth’s take on Geralt’s voice and it’s quite shocking, both in terms of how different it is from Cavill’s and because of the line Netflix chooses for him to utter: “Let’s *#$)ing move!” It sounds like something a special forces soldier might say, or a Twitch streamer playing Fortnite.
Of course, the problem with the line isn’t Hemsworth necessarily. It’s the writing. The writing for this series has been abysmal for a long time and if this trailer is any indication, that trend continues into Season 4. Geralt wouldn’t say this. Geralt would say “Move.” Do the people writing this series not understand its protagonist at all?
Still, it’s jarring to see and hear Hemsworth as Geralt regardless of the bad writing. Gone is the deep, gravelly voice. The stoic demeanor. Cavill always channeled Doug Cockle’s Geralt from the video game series, though he gave the character his own spin. Both versions interpreted Geralt as rough and even-keeled. It’s not that he doesn’t have emotions – mutant Witchers are said to be emotionless, but that’s clearly untrue – it’s that these emotions are battened down. Geralt isn’t a shouter, even when he’s angry.
Other issues with this trailer:
Season 4 of The Witcher drops on October 30th. There will be a fifth and final season down the road, but honestly this show basically died after Season 1. Speaking of which, here’s the Season 1 trailer so you can get a sense of just how much of a tonal shift there’s been since then:
Even here, I’d replaced the music with just the orchestral score. (Or better still, the video game’s score). But the writing is just much, much better even in the trailer. Compare our two Geralts:
Season 1: “Evil is evil. Less, greater, middling. It’s all the same.”
Season 4: “Let’s #*$&ing move!”
Sigh.