By Netflix has spent the last 4 months filming the fourth and semi-final season of its monster-slaying fantasy series, The Witcher. With Liam Hemsworth all suited up as the new Geralt of Rivia and joining costars Anya Chalotra (Yennefer) and Freya Allan (Ciri), filming has progressed according to the busy schedule. It’s been a while since our last recap of filming news, mainly because filming has taken place on set in Longcross Studios and away from the local fans and their cameras for the majority of the past two months.
We’ll be picking up where we left off in our last two Recap articles, so you can have a look at them if you haven’t read them already:
- The First Month of The Witcher Season 4 Filming, Recapped
- The Second Month of The Witcher Season 4 Filming, Recapped
Filming of Block 2 (Episodes 3 and 4) is now completed
We’ll start our recap with the most recent news: Netflix has completed filming of Block 2 of Season 4. This means that the season’s third and fourth episodes have been filmed, along with the previously completed first and second episodes. In all, 4 of the season’s 8 episodes have been filmed. So exactly half of Season 4 is already filmed, and the second half is now underway.
This is a major milestone for the production, which is progressing full-speed ahead towards the production wrap which is expected in October. This will leave the post-production team of editors, sound, and visual effects enough time to make the expected Summer 2025 release of Season 4.
The episodes of Block 2 were directed by Tricia Brock, who is known for her work on The Walking Dead, Person of Interest, and 30 Rock among many other projects. Her most recent work now released is Bridgerton Season 3, where she directed the first 2 episodes. The writers behind this Block of filming are Rae Benjamin (Episode 3) and Troy Dangerfield (Episode 4), returning from Season 3, where they have written the fourth and eighth episodes respectively.
Though we don’t know much about the story these episodes will cover, the few details we have uncovered may give book readers an idea.
Refugee Camp scenes were filmed with Laurence Fishburne’s Regis, and all of Geralt’s Hansa
One of the biggest sequences set to appear in Block 2 is set in a Refugee Camp which Geralt and his group of misfits, later called the Hansa, come across during their travels. These scenes were filmed in the beautiful English ruins of Waverley Abbey over several weeks. A large campsite was built between the various ruins, including dozens of tents. During filming, many extras were present alongside cast members to flesh out the scenes, which are adapted directly from the book Baptism of Fire.
As you may remember, Season 3 ended with Geralt (Henry Cavill), Jaskier (Joey Batey), and the newcomer Milva (Meng’er Zhang) setting off toward Nilfgaard, where they believe Ciri (Freya Allan) is held by Emperor Emhyr (Bart Edwards). This trio will grow as they meet new characters in Season 4. Perhaps the most exciting new addition to Geralt’s Hansa is the barber-surgeon Regis, a favorite among book readers and players of CD Projekt RED’s video games.
Regis will be portrayed in the series by none other than Laurence Fishburne, whose acting career has seen him in The Matrix, Hannibal, and many other iconic projects. As it happens, we were able to get an exclusive picture of Fishburne in costume as Regis on the set at Waverley Abbey, which you can see above.
Below you will find a gallery of other photos taken at this location during filming.
Besides Fishburne’s Regis, we also have reason to believe that Danny Woodburn and Linden Porco were on set as Zoltan and Percival. The two are remembers of a band of dwarves led by Zoltan, and one gnome (Percival), who is traveling the war-torn countryside. They will come across Geralt’s Hansa, and from that point, they will be traveling together for a while.
The scenes filmed in the Refugee Camp involve a crazed priest who claims a local woman is a witch and intends to burn her at the stake. Geralt’s group will interfere, and Regis will have an iconic moment involving a horseshoe. Then, the camp will be raided by Nilfgaardians.
Nilfgaardian Armor, Take 3
Perhaps the show’s first major controversy, the Nilfgaardian Armor debuted in Season 1 with a rather strange wrinkly design. Many fans were unhappy with the way the first iteration of the armor appeared, and so it was redesigned for Season 2, with a cleaner metallic look.
This armor transitioned into Season 3 without any modifications, and it seemed that both the fans and creators were content leaving it as is. However, we now know this armor has undergone another change for Season 4.
During filming at the Waverley Abbey Refugee Camp sequence, a group of Nilfgaardian soldiers appeared. This follows the events in the book Baptism of Fire, where the camp is raided by Nilfgaardian soldiers. These soldiers were wearing distinctly different armor than the previous two iterations worn by Nilfgaardians in the show, and it almost seems like a cross between the two designs.
It’s possible that these soldiers are part of a special unit with its own armor, although we’d venture a guess that this is how common Nilfgaardian soldiers will look in Season 4.
You can see a gallery with more pictures in the article linked below.
RELATED ARTICLE: The Witcher Season 4 Introduces New Nilfgaardian Armor
Ciri and the Rats get into trouble
Season 3 has set up the next phase of the story for Freya Allan‘s witcher-princess Ciri by introducing her to the Rats, a group of teens who are all victims of Nilfgaard’s wars of expansion. The Rats are outlaws, often thieving from the rich and getting themselves into all manners of trouble. Ciri quickly enters the fold with her new name Falka.
Most of the filming for this storyline occurred behind the walls of Longcross Studios, so we don’t know much, but we do know that filming was done for a particularly bloody fight scene involving the Rats.
As filming occurred in the studio, the filming likely took place in a village set, perhaps a village called Jealousy. We are not yet certain if that was THE fight scene, which also involves Sharlto Copley‘s bounty hunter Leo Bonhart, although it is certainly possible.
More location filming across England
Though most of the filming for Block 2 occurred in the sets built within Longcross Studios and at Waverley Abbey’s Refugee Camp set, the cast and crew did visit at least three other locations for brief bouts of filming. The first and most interesting is the Muslim Burial Ground Palace and Garden in Woking, England. The crew was set up on location for a couple of days, likely filming inside the garden.
Fans have speculated that this may be the gardens in the Nilfgaardian capital, which was glimpsed towards the end of Season 4. We know that Emperor Emhyr (Bart Edwards) is there along with Vilgefortz (Mahesh Jadu) and Teryn the Fake Ciri (Frances Pooley).
Season 4 will also introduce a new key character to team Nilfgaardian, Stefan Skellen (James Purefoy), an ambitious spy who will set off after the real Ciri. Of course, it could also be another location rather than Nilfgaard, for example, the royal gardens of Redania, which we have already seen in Season 3 in scenes featuring Philippa (Cassie Clare) and Dijkstra (Graham McTavish)
The second spot visited by The Witcher‘s cast and crew was Frensham Little Pond and the nearby woods. Here, Liam Hemsworth‘s Geralt was spotted on location along with the horse Pinocchio (this season’s Roach).
With Hemsworth on set, it’s likely other members of the Hansa were there as well. Since they will be traveling the countryside for most of the season, the scene likely involves the group bantering as they travel. You can see pictures taken during filming in the below Tweet.
The last location, that we are aware of, is the Thursley Common. This was the second time a Season 4 scene has been filmed in this location, and was previously a scene related to Geralt’s storyline, although the scenes may be unrelated. You can see pictures taken during filming in the below Tweet.
The Witcher Season 4 is in production for a 2025 release. Andrzej Sapkowski’s new Witcher book has a planned Winter 2024/2025 release with The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep anime set for a late 2024 release as well.
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