A recent report indicated that a fan-favorite character was going to be recast in the upcoming fourth season of The Witcher, which is currently filming. That character was Geralt’s longtime friend and mentor Vesemir, who was played by Kim Bodnia in the Netflix series, but it wasn’t known why the role was being recast. The recasting has now been confirmed to RadioTimes by a spokesperson for Bodnia, revealing that it was a conflict in Bodnia’s schedule that caused the switch-up. The spokesperson said, “Kim will not return as Vesemir as his current shooting diary didn’t fit in with Netflix’s shooting schedule of The Witcher Season 4.“
It’s unfortunate that fans won’t get to see Bodnia continue in the Vesemir role, but the good news is that fans will get to see Bodnia in another project. The project that clashed with the schedule is the Apple TV+ original film F1, which is directed by Joseph Kosinski (Top Gun: Maverick) and stars Brad Pitt as a retired F1 driver who returns to action to compete against the biggest stars in the sport.
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Bodnia plays the role of Kaspar in the film, joining a cast that includes Pitt, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem, Tobias Menzies, and Sarah Niles. Filming both projects wasn’t going to be an issue originally since they were set to film at different times. That timeline was shaken up though after the Writers Guild of America and Screen Actors Guild strikes, and the film was already on a tight timeline.
That’s because the film had to film during the real F1 Grand Prix weekends so it could include that footage as part of the races in the movie. The Witcher is also on an expedited timeline, as it is currently filming season 4 and will film season 5 after a four-month break. Now the role will need to be recast, but it had nothing to do with Bodnia’s excellent portrayal of the character in previous seasons.
There’s no word on who will step into that role in season 4 and season 5, but we’ll keep you posted as we learn more. With the season currently filming, odds are we’ll know relatively soon who will end up playing the part moving forward, and it will be interesting to see who Netflix gets to play the role opposite of the new Geralt Liam Hemsworth.
That’s especially important thanks to the close bond between Geralt and Vesemir in the games, the books, and now the show. The two share a lot of history, and Vesemir is especially important to The School of the Wolf and Geralt’s early years as a Witcher. Vesemir was present at the building of Kaer Morhen and saw the school at its peak and during its final days as a thriving Witcher fortress.
Kaer Morhen was attacked by an angry mob who had turned against The Witchers who had once protected it, and while the mob greatly damaged the fortress, the attack and subsequent high death toll also took away the ability to create new Witchers. Vesemir took a young Geralt under his wing, which was part of the story covered in The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf.
Who would you want to see step into the role of Vesemir in The Witcher? You can talk all things Witcher with me on Threads and Twitter @mattaguilarcb!