Geralt Actor Dismisses 'Woke' Label for Ciri-Led Witcher 4

Doug Cockle, the iconic voice behind Geralt in CD Projekt's The Witcher series, has responded strongly to the criticism surrounding The Witcher 4's focus on Ciri as its protagonist. In a recent video interview with Fall Damage, Cockle dismissed the backlash as "stupid" and urged fans to reconsider their stance on the game's direction.

"It's not woke," Cockle emphasized, addressing the minority of fans who labeled the decision as such. "There's nothing woke about it. [Ciri]'s a cool character from The Witcher, and they're gonna focus on that character, and that's awesome."

Despite reprising his role as Geralt in The Witcher 4, Cockle supports the shift towards Ciri, arguing that it's time for a change. "We can't just have Geralt for every single game for The Witcher ad nauseam, out through eternity," he explained. "We've seen the end of Geralt's journey. Blood and Wine was supposed to wrap up that journey."

Cockle celebrated Ciri's new role, dismissing the "woke" accusations with a playful raspberry. He also pointed out that the decision to focus on Ciri aligns with the rich narrative provided by Andrzej Sapkowski's original novels. "If you read the books, then you understand why CD Projekt went down this avenue," Cockle noted, suggesting that the books offer a deeper understanding of Ciri's potential as a protagonist.

He encouraged detractors to read the novels, praising them for their quality and relevance to understanding the game's direction. "If you think it's woke, read the damn books — they're good, first of all. And secondly, you won't think it's so woke anymore."

The Witcher series, set after Sapkowski's novels, has always been closely tied to the source material, despite the author's distancing from the video games. Ciri's prominence in the upcoming game is seen as a natural progression, reflecting her importance in the books and providing a fresh narrative direction for the franchise.

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IGN's previous discussions with CD Projekt's franchise and lore designers, Cian Maher and Marcin Batylda, further clarified how the established timeline accommodates Geralt's return alongside Ciri's new role, ensuring continuity and excitement for the series' future.