The Witcher 4 announcement revealed that Ciri will be the franchise's new lead. Though fans already got to know her in the last game, Wild Hunt, they noticed something different about her in the reveal trailer.
As it turns out, Ciri’s original voice actress, Jo Wyatt, won’t return for the sequel. Another actress has taken over the role.
Ciri’s Voice Actress Change
As confirmed by The Gamer, the role of Ciri in The Witcher 4 will now be taken over by Ciara Berkley. Berkley is a relative newcomer, and her latest credit had her working on the film Swing Bout. A representative for CD Projekt Red said this about the recasting:
“Ciara Berkeley was cast as Ciri for The Witcher 4 Cinematic Reveal Trailer. Ciara is a talented actress who impressed us with her enthusiasm and vocal acting skills. In this trailer, we believe she truly brought Ciri to life in a way that is both faithful to the character and exciting for fans of the series.”
No official reason has been revealed for why they decided to replace Wyatt for the sequel, but they may want to have Berkley personify the role as the main character this time. After all, Ciri is now expected to lead a new trilogy of Witcher games.
What Can Fans Expect from The Witcher 4
With the books focusing mostly on Geralt of Rivia, The Witcher 4 will be treading new ground, with Ciri being the lead character. The series will undoubtedly feature all the familiar magical/fantasy elements that people know from The Witcher, but fans should also expect some more morally complex stories—just like the one from the cinematic announcement.
As far as gameplay goes, nothing has been officially revealed, but the trailer does give fans a few ideas of what kind of skill set Ciri has in the game and how it differs from Geralt’s kit. Besides the more unique-looking weapons, it does seem like Ciri has access to new abilities—like her ability that makes her eyes go silver, which probably allows her to see in the dark.
Ciri also has a new weapon- a chain attached to a gauntlet—like Kratos’ Blades of Chaos. Not only can she trap enemies with it, but it also looks like she can channel magic through them and have whatever’s trapped on the chain feel its effects.
click to enlargeThe 'Woker' 4
Admittedly, there is already a chunk of the internet ready to hate on this game because the lead is a woman, but many hardcore Witcher fans know that the last game was setting up Geralt to retire with Ciri taking up his mantle.
Hopefully, CDPR will reveal more later, but in the meantime, the Game Awards will have to keep fans excited for a few more months.
No release date has been set for The Witcher 4, but hopefully, it will be released in the next few years for PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PS5.
For more articles like this, take a look at our The Witcher page.