How Laurence Fishburne’s Witcher Season 4 Debut Will Forever Change Netflix’s Geralt Of Rivia

Laurence Fishburne and Liam Hemsworth explain the importance of Regis’ debut in The Witcher season 4 and how it impacts Geralt of Rivia. Both Fishburne and Hemsworth are newcomers to the series, with Fishburne playing The Witcher season 4’s Regis and Hemsworth taking over the role of Geralt after Henry Cavill’s exit.

As seen in The Witcher season 3’s ending, Geralt is on a mission to find Ciri (Freya Allan). While some established characters, including Jaskier (Joey Batey), join Geralt, several new characters will become part of the mission as well, with Regis being an important addition.

While speaking with ScreenRant‘s Liam Crowley, Hemsworth breaks down the dynamic that forms between Geralt and Regis. He explains that there is “instant connection” and “trust” between the two characters, that Geralt opens up to Regis early in the season, and Regis becomes a mentor figure to Geralt. Check out Hemsworth’s comments below:

Yeah, it’s one of my favorite relationships in this series. I think it shows a different side of Geralt. Geralt’s someone that is pretty closed off and likes to do things on his own, and for whatever reason, there’s this kind of instant connection with Regis and this sort of trust there. And he finds himself in this conversation very, very early on when they meet, kind of opening up and sort of asking questions about what he’s going to do or how he should do it. And Regis, in a very subtle way, gives him guidance throughout this season, and they become closer and closer. And then there’s this kind of turning point, this crossroads where Geralt’s sort of questioning who Regis is and what he is now and whether he can continue to be friends with this person or really trust this person. And yeah, it’s a really interesting dynamic. I absolutely love Laurence Fishburne. I’ve been a massive fan of him for a long time. And it was so much fun working with him. The first scene that we did was that scene where he’s dressing my wound and we sort of end up in this deep conversation. Both of us were on set that day. We both just kept after every take, like, “God, this is so much fun. We’re both exploring these characters and finding different things.” And yeah, he was just really exciting to work with.

When Fishburne was asked about how he prepared to bring the fan-favorite character of Regis to the screen, he shared that the most important thing he did was talk to showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich about the character’s relationship with Geralt and how it would be nothing like Geralt’s other relationships in the show.

With Regis being a vampire who no longer drinks blood, he sees himself as an outsider, and this helps create a sense of understanding and connection between him and Geralt.

Well, I think for me, the most significant thing was the thing that I talked with Lauren [Schmidt Hissrich] about, which was the relationship between Regis and Geralt and that it would be different from any other relationship that he’s had in the series and that Regis is a person that suddenly Geralt feels comfortable confiding in. Somebody who’s, you know, had to live a life that’s not dissimilar from Geralt’s life, and that he’s an outsider in a way that Regis is an outsider in the way that Geralt has been, but he’s been an outsider much longer, so he understands that path and that life that Geralt is living. So it was really about exploring that idea and those dynamics, more so than it was trying to interpret anything from either the books or the video games because, you know, they’ve made some departures from the books and the video games and bringing it to the screen.

As for why Regis chooses to join Geralt and the group of characters with him, referred to as the hanza, Fishburne clarifies that it is because of the freedom Regis sees in them. Regis is also drawn to how everyone in the group has had a previous life, but now they are all united in this mission and genuinely invested in Geralt.

I think it’s this sense of freedom that Regis kind of has read on, on Geralt and the hanza. These are all people who had previous lives before they came together, and they’re sort of off on this adventure where they’re not exactly sure where it’s gonna lead to, but they’re invested enough in Geralt to want to follow him, to want to protect him, to want to be his family, and I think that’s kind of what it is.

Fishburne and Hemsworth’s comments highlight the major impact that Regis will have on Geralt. Getting Geralt to open up early on in The Witcher season 4 is particularly telling, as he is a famously stoic character who does not easily share his feelings or insecurities with others.

Vesemir (Kim Bodnia) trained Geralt to become a witcher and has been a mentor to him in the past, but Regis offers a different kind of guidance that Geralt has never had before in the series. This makes Geralt comfortable with Regis in a way that he is not with other characters.

Geralt has learned invaluable lessons from Vesemir, Yennefer (Anya Chalotra), Ciri, and other key individuals in his life, and now Regis’ guidance will allow Geralt to continue to grow in new ways.

The Witcher season 4 comes to Netflix on October 30.

Release Date

December 20, 2019

Network

Netflix

Showrunner

Lauren Schmidt Hissrich

Directors

Stephen Surjik, Charlotte Brändström, Edward Bazalgette, Loni Peristere, Louise Hooper, Bola Ogun, Alex Garcia Lopez, Gandja Monteiro, Sarah O’Gorman

Writers

Haily Hall, Clare Higgins, Javier Grillo-Marxuach, Jenny Klein, Tania Lotia

• Anya Chalotra

  Yennefer of Vengerberg