After a lukewarm fourth season, Netflix’s fantasy adaptation of a bestselling book series that began with a titular 1986 short story is set to return for its fifth and final season. But that may not be happening anytime soon. Since premiering in 2019, The Witcher hasn’t had the smoothest run, from Henry Cavill’s departure as Geralt of Rivia to fans and critics’ divisive response to the series’ storytelling and its recasting of the title character with Liam Hemsworth.

Hemsworth officially took over the lead role in The Witcher Season 4, which premiered with eight episodes on October 30, 2025, but the season received mixed reviews. This is shown on Rotten Tomatoes, with a 59% Tomatometer score and a disappointing 19% Popcornmeter rating. Although the performance may have caused other shows to be cancelled immediately, the action-adventure was already renewed for Season 5 in April 2024. Seasons 4 and 5 were filmed back-to-back, as previously announced by Netflix, covering the last three novels of Andrzej Sapkowski‘s Witcher series: Baptism of Fire, The Tower of the Swallow, and Lady of the Lake.

With the final season of The Witcher expected to premiere soon, What’s on Netflix reports that Season 5 has been delayed. It appears that the season has been quietly removed from Netflix‘s promotional websites and media center for 2026. So, fans can likely expect The Witcher to return sometime in 2027, though Netflix has not officially confirmed this or provided a specific release date.

Why Is Netflix’s ‘The Witcher’ Season 5 Delayed?

The Witcher Season 5, which wrapped filming in September 2025, has been delayed due to several reasons. One reason is likely that Netflix intends to allocate more time to post-production, given the show’s heavy use of VFX and large-scale battles. Additionally, the streamer’s lineup for the rest of the year is pretty full with new seasons of series like Black Doves and 3 Body Problem. There is also a possibility that Netflix aims to strengthen its 2027 original series lineup with a tentpole debut.

Returning in The Witcher Season 5 are our favorite lead trio, Geralt (Hemsworth), Ciri (Freya Allan), and Yennefer (Anya Chalotra). The actors will be joined by newcomers Emily-Jo Young as the fan-favorite character Shani; Game of Thrones actress Kate Dickie as Priestess Sigrdrifa; and Liv Andrusier as Condwiramurs Tilly.

The Witcher streams on Netflix.

via Collider