Netflix has announced that the third season of “The Witcher” will premiere on June 29. The streaming service is splitting up the season into two parts, with the second half of the season debuting on July 27. The third season will be particularly notable because it will be last with Henry Cavill playing Geralt. Following this season, the character will be played by Liam Hemsworth.
Alongside the release dates, Netflix has also released a new minute-long teaser for the upcoming season.
“As monarchs, mages and beasts of the Continent compete to capture her, Geralt takes Ciri of Cintra into hiding, determined to protect his newly reunited family against those who threaten to destroy it,” reads Netflix’s summary for the season. “Entrusted with Ciri’s magical training, Yennefer leads them to the protected fortress of Aretuza, where she hopes to discover 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.”
It’s worth noting that this isn’t the first time that Netflix has split up a season in two parts. Last summer, the streaming service split into two parts the fourth season of “Stranger Things.” Earlier this year, the company did the same with the fourth season of “You.”
Netflix has been known for letting its users binge watch its series by releasing entire seasons at once in the past. Now, the company is rethinking its strategy, likely in the hopes of spreading the buzz around its shows over at least a month, as opposed to a week, which is sometimes the case when users watch an entire season in a weekend.
Today’s announcement comes as Netflix revealed last week that its crackdown on password sharing is coming to the U.S. this summer.