Fantasy TV series The Witcher returns to screens after more than two years with a new lead and a fresh outlook, its makers say.
The new instalment sees Australian actor Liam Hemsworth taking over the role of Geralt of Rivia from Henry Cavill, who played the monster hunter since the show's debut in 2019. Cavill's final outing, season three, was released in the summer of 2023.
The Netflix show is based on Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski's book series, and follows Geralt as he hunts monsters in a fantasy realm known as the Continent.
"The tone of the season is really interesting. Gerald has a lot of sort of dry, wittier moments this season. He (Hemsworth) brought a real sense of humour, but at the same time, we have these stories that are super dark. And so it was a really interesting balance," the series' creator and showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich said.
"It feels like a refresh for the show. I think Liam brings a new energy and everyone rose to meet that, including how the show looks, how it sounds, how it moves. It's a really fast season." Hissrich added.
Hemsworth said he was a longtime fan of the video game adaptations of the books and came to the project with "a lot of ideas" and wanted to inject some "levity and lightness" in appropriate moments of Geralt's journey.
The role came with responsibility and also a new set of challenges for the "Hunger Games" actor.
In the new season Geralt, who became separated from sorceress Yennefer, played by Anya Chalotra and princess Ciri, portrayed by Freya Allan, at the end of season three, teams up with new travel companions and makes emotional connections.
Alongside Hemsworth, "Matrix" actor Laurence Fishburne is another new addition to the cast, and takes on the role of vampire Regis.
"I've never been in this kind of world before. I've done some science fiction, I've done some horror, I've done some action, I haven't really done, I guess what gamers call a hack and slash thing, right?" the actor said. "The way that they cast this kind of world was very non-traditional. This world looks like the world that we all live in. And so that was mostly what made it attractive to me."
The new season came with much-anticipated, powerful storylines for Ciri, Yennefer and Geralt's friend, bard Jaskier, the recurring cast members playing the characters said.
Season four was filmed back-to-back with the series' fifth and final season and together they cover Sapkowski's three remaining novels "Baptism of Fire", "The Tower of the Swallow" and "Lady of the Lake".
"I always thought that I would feel mournful at the end because it's been my life for eight years. Instead, I felt the opposite. It felt like such a celebration and I still can't believe we got to do five seasons of this. It's really an honour," said Hissrich.
The eight-episode season four of "The Witcher" starts streaming on October 30.