The Witcher Season 4 WON'T Be Book-Accurate After Henry Cavill's Departure As Producer Teases MCU-style Multiverse

The Witcher season 4 will be faced with a rather unique problem, the recast of Geralt of Rivia. With the departure of Henry Cavill, because they didn't stick to the source material, the showrunners decided to deviate from the books, they decided to go full send and leave the source material in the dust for good! For their recast of Geralt, they even decided to rely on multiverse shenanigans that even the MCU would be ashamed off.

• Witcher Season 4: Release Date, Cast, Story & Everything We Know

Witcher Season 4 Will Not Be Book-Accurate As Promised

Since the announcement of Liam Hemsworth replacing Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia there have been rumors about how the change in appearance would be explained – if it would be mentioned at all. Now, Netflix has confirmed that they will introduce the concept of multiverses into the show. The executive producer is now claiming that their solution is "really true to the book". I'm wondering which book he means.

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In an interview with the Radio Times, executive producer Tomek Bagiński teased a "very little thing":

People who know the books really deeply also know that this is not a typical fantasy book. It's not just one world. It's not just one story happening in those books, in those stories. It's a huge, huge world which is very, very complex.

His "little teasing" pretty much confirms that Netflix wants to establish a Marvel-like multiverse to the show to explain different Geralts in different universes looking slightly different. But the problem with that is simple: there is no multiverse in the Witcher series.

He is correct with what he is saying, a huge and complex world and different stories happening simultaneously. But the show runners aren't correct with the conclusions they're drawing. While there are different planes of existence and different worlds, there are no different versions of Geralt and his friends like in the Spider-Man franchise or Marvel in general. But it seems like that's Netflix plan.

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Since they've already made some changes and took their liberties with the source material – and some of the writers allegedly actively disliking the books and games – it seems ridiculous for Netflix to claim they're staying "really true to the book". Why don't they just embrace their changes, their own version of it?

What Made Them Think There Are More Geralts?

Well, minor spoiler-alert for this section as I'm referring to the books to some extent and that could also be a spoiler for the series (I don't think so but you were warned!). There is indeed one scene where we meet a man who could be Geralt – or not.

First of all; the timeline of the Witcher series is a mess, as everyone could experience in season 1. There are currently eight books telling Geralt's story, and the chronological order to read them is the following:

I bet you've spotted the problem.

Season of Storms was published in 2013 between The Witcher 2: Assassin of Kings in 2011 and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt in 2015. The community received the book with mixed feelings. The most important part of it is its epilogue. In it, we follow Nimue, a young girl on her way to Aretusa more than 100 years after the events of the Geralt-Saga. She loves the stories about him, Yennfer and Ciri and knows pretty much everything about it. She's a nerd.

• Is The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Still Great?

While she's passing through a forest, she's attacked by a monster and saved by a man with white hair she thinks is Geralt, although she knows he's long gone to Land of the Apple Trees. This man is pretty communicative and as they approach his horse, Nimue points out that it must be named Roach "since all your horses are named Roach". The man asks her about the year and confirms that Geralt is long gone. But he would be happy to know that people remembered Roach's name.

After this encounter, Nimue isn't quite sure if it was real, since the man showed her a "secret Witcher sign" and told her everything is an illusion. This sign is only mentioned this one time in the entire series. So there are a few options:

1. Geralt is still alive
2. Geralt returned
3. It was a dream
4. It wasn't Geralt

While it is possible that Sapkowski wrote Seasons of Storms with this confusing and vague ending to make Geralt's return in the video games more plausible, it seems more like he'd taken the chance to publish another story concerning Geralt while everyone was talking about it. Nimue is a recurring character, so this plot could have been in his head for quite a while. I think it is more plausible that Nimue simply doesn't meet Geralt, but someone else.

In the same book, we are introduced to a powerful creature called Aguara, a vulpess that can take a human form. And they are known for their illusions. With this hint, it seems far more likely that another creature had taken Geralt's shape.

Maybe one day...