The Witcher season 3 trailer reveals June and July release dates for Henry Cavill’s final season

Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia in The Witcher season 3

(Image credit: Netflix)

And just like that, Henry Cavill's back for the last time in The Witcher season 3's first teaser trailer, as one of the best Netflix shows loses its lead. But don't worry: Netflix won't let you binge it all at once. It's splitting this season in half.

The Witcher season 3's first trailer doesn't give us much in the way of storyline or plot points, but it did confirm a pair of release dates. The first portion of this season will debut on June 29th, and the second will arrive almost a month later, on July 27th. Recent shows to get the split-release treatment include You, Stranger Things and Ozark.

The teaser trailer, which you can watch above, shows us that Geralt of Rivia (Cavill), Yennefer of Vengerberg (Anya Chalotra) and Ciri (Freya Allan) are still separated. And, in voice-over narration for a moment where Geralt unsheathes his sword, we hear him admit that he's understanding "real fear" for the first time.

Earlier in the trailer, we see Ciri (on horseback) chased by the Wild Hunt. Those enemies have been teased since last season and The Witcher: Blood Origin spinoff.

This is Cavill's final run as Geralt, as an October 2022 announcement revealed The Witcher season 4 will star Liam Hemsworth. Netflix's official synopsis, if you're curious, reads as follows:

"As monarchs, mages, and beasts of the Continent compete to capture her, Geralt takes Ciri into hiding, determined to protect his newly-reunited family against those who threaten to destroy it. Entrusted with Ciri’s magical training, Yennefer leads them to the protected fortress of Aretuza, where they hope to uncover more about the girl’s untapped powers; instead, they discover they’ve landed in a battlefield of political corruption, dark magic, and treachery. They must fight back, put everything on the line – or risk losing each other forever."

Analysis: It's a shame Cavill can't stay

Things were very different back when Henry Cavill was announced to be leaving The Witcher. Word was he was going to go back to the DCU for Man of Steel 2.

That movie is now dead, and Cavill is not going to play Superman in the upcoming James Gunn film Superman: Legacy. Now, Cavill's next big project is Amazon's Warhammer project.

We don't know how Liam Hemsworth will fare stepping into Cavill's armor, but The Witcher without Henry Cavill sounds like a hollow proposition. For example, Blood Origin was such a poor outing that it seriously lowered our faith in a post-Cavill Witcher-verse.

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Henry was a managing editor at Tom’s Guide covering streaming media, laptops and all things Apple, reviewing devices and services for the past seven years. Prior to joining Tom's Guide, he reviewed software and hardware for TechRadar Pro, and interviewed artists for Patek Philippe International Magazine. He's also covered the wild world of professional wrestling for Cageside Seats, interviewing athletes and other industry veterans.