Calling ‘The Witcher’ “Woke”? Geralt Voice Actor Has Some Stern Advice For You: “Read The Damn Books”

It’s now been 10 years since the release of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, the final installment in Geralt of Rivia’s story as told by CD Projekt RED. The trilogy capper was such a hit that it not only won Game of the Year, but prompted Netflix to move forward with a live-action version of the series led by Henry Cavill, who Liam Hemsworth will replace in Season 4 and beyond. CD Projekt RED announced last year that The Witcher 4 was in the works, but the next game in the series would focus on Geralt’s mentor, Ciri.

This was met with blowback by fans who claim it’s “woke” to now have the main character be a woman after it was previously a man. This was a ridiculous claim from the start, as Ciri is an extremely well-developed character in The Witcher 3, and the ending also set her up as the primary antagonist going forward. The original Geralt of Rivia voice actor from the games, Doug Cockle, recently sat down for an interview with Fall Damage, and he weighed in on the “woke” debate. Needless to say, he didn’t hold back on those who aren’t happy with Ciri being crowned the next main character:

“That’s just stupid. It’s not woke. There’s nothing woke about it. It’s a cool character from The Witcher, and they’re going to focus on that character. I think that’s awesome. Read the damn books – they’re good, first of all.”

Few details are known about The Witcher Season 4 at this time, but it is expected to return to Netflix later this year. The show has also already been renewed for Season 5, which will be the final season in the series. In addition to Cavill/Hemsworth as Geralt of Rivia, Freya Allan (Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes) also stars in The Witcher as Ciri, with Anya Chalotra (Creature Commandos) starring alongside her as Yennefer.

When Is ‘The Witcher 4’ Game Coming Out?

CD Projekt RED has yet to announce when The Witcher 4 will be released, but it isn’t expected to drop for at least a few years. It’s become increasingly common for games to provide the first cinematic teaser years before they’re ready to be released, similar to what Insomniac Games did with its Wolverine game. Announced in 2021, there have still been no updates on Wolverine nearly four years later, but the studio did confirm a few days ago that it is still in development. The most likely window for The Witcher 4’s release is sometime in 2027.

The Witcher 4 does not have an official release date. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates on The Witcher universe and watch The Witcher series on Netflix.