By The Witcher Season 4 has been filming since April. Liam Hemsworth has stepped into Geralt’s boots alongside costars Anya Chalotra, Freya Allan, and Joey Batey who are returning as Yennefer, Ciri, and Jaskier respectively. The show’s large ensemble of supporting characters will also return, but as always, we’re set to meet a few new characters. Several of the new characters will be Nilfgaardians, vassals of Bart Edwards’ Emperor Emhyr var Emreis, a necessary upgrade to his rather empty court in Season 3.
The first new Nilfgaardian character was confirmed months ago, secret service agent Stefan Skellen, who will be portrayed by veteran actor James Purefoy. Now we have to new confirmed characters, both of whom appeared in the books.
Tom Benedict Knight as General Ardal aep Dahy
Tom Benedict Knight is an experienced actor who has appeared in both films and television series. He is best known for his roles in films like Kick-Ass 2, Kingsman: The Golden Circle, and Dracula: Untold, as well as his television roles in Hollyoaks and Houdini.
Benedict Knight will portray Ardal aep Dahy, a Nilfgaardian General key to Emperor Emhyr’s second invasion of the Northern Realms. Besides being a general, Ardal is also a close confidant of Emhyr, and helped him escape Nilfgaard at a young age after his father’s throne was taken by the Usurper. Twenty years later, Ardal led the pro-Emhyr force that dethroned the Usurper and reclaimed Emhyr’s throne in Nilfgaard.
In the books, General Ardal leads the East Army Group in a campaign to conquer Aedirn, Lyria, and Dol Blathanna. We can only speculate what his role will be in the show. Perhaps he will be part of Emhyr’s war council, or he will find himself clashing with a certain Queen Meve on a certain bridge.
Andrew French as Rispat La Pointe
Andrew French is an experienced stage actor who has joined The Witcher cast with years of experience in theatre. French is also known for his film roles in The Exorcist: The Beginning and Assassination Games. Additionally, French has had a long career on television, appearing in shows such as The Bill, EastEnders, Holby City, and A Very English Scandal.
In The Witcher Season 4, French will portray Rispat La Pointe, a member of the Gemmerian Pacifiers in service of Nilfgaardian secret serviceman Stefan Skellen (James Purefoy). In the books, La Pointe and the other Pacifiers were sent by Skellen to capture Ciri, leading to an iconic confrontation in a tavern on the eve of Saovine. This confrontation occurs towards the end of Tower of the Swallow, only a few pages ahead of a certain scene involving ice skating.
Nilfgaardian Armor, Take 3
Besides these new cast members, The Witcher Season 4 will also give the Nilfgaardian soldiers a new suit of armor. This will be the show’s third iteration, following the infamous wrinkled armor of Season 1 and the appreciated overhaul introduced in Season 2. The picture above was taken on location at Waverley Abbey during filming. For more pictures from the set, take a look at the article linked below.
RELATED ARTICLE: The Witcher Season 4 Introduces New Nilfgaardian Armor
We have a couple of new Nilfgaardians, but hopefully, that’s not all of them. We’re still missing spymaster Vattier de Rideaux and general Menno Coehoorn, who may or may not appear in Season 4. The latter may be portrayed by Miles Jovian, but that’s not certain yet. In any case, Emhyr is no longer lonely.
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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