Netflix Is Quietly Delaying The End Of The Witcher
Fans are going to have to wait a little longer to be reacquainted with Geralt of Rivia.
As video game adaptations pull far more weight in Hollywood than they did 20 years ago, one of the most frequent providers of the genre has, surprisingly, been Netflix. While there have been some duds, like their live-action imagining of the Resident Evil mythos, they’ve also been responsible for highly-watched successes like Arcane, Castlevania, and Devil May Cry. There’s also no indication that they plan on slowing down now that video game movies and shows are in high demand: there’s already a live-action adaptation of the BioShock series and the Persona games on the horizon.
One of Netflix’s earliest attention-grabbing efforts was the 2019 streaming debut of The Witcher, an adaptation of the immensely popular Polish fantasy novels and video games. The first season introduced the world to Henry Cavill’s Geralt of Rivia and launched a franchise, earning several spin-offs and animated films along with four seasons of its own. And now, seven years after it premiered, The Witcher is officially coming to an end with a fifth and final season — eventually.
After star Henry Cavill departed the show in 2022, Liam Hemsworth took over as Geralt in a fourth season that wasn’t as well-regarded.
The Witcher’s final season was announced partway through the filming of the show’s fourth season in 2024, which debuted in October last year. Season 5 wrapped filming around the same time, and Netflix had seemingly indicated the show’s climax would come sometime this year, but an August 7 article from What’s On Netflix revealed that the fifth season is quietly being delayed. The streamer had teased the season at the beginning of 2025 as part of their Next on Netflix campaign, but fans have slowly noticed the show’s presence being removed from the platform’s marketing for 2026 releases.
Of course, a show being delayed doesn’t necessarily spell doom — this could easily be something as trivial as additional time being dedicated to the show’s complex VFX, or that Netflix would prefer to kick off its 2027 release schedule with the anticipated conclusion of an established hit. There’s also the fact that The Witcher 3 is receiving a new expansion in 2027, which could mean the final season is being delayed to maximize synergy with the new game content. While surely a disappointment for fans expecting to be reunited with their favorite monster hunter and the ensemble of sorceresses, bards, and adventurers surrounding him, hopefully the delay makes the show’s final stretch a more memorable and satisfying conclusion.
