Geralt Actor Dismisses 'Woke' Claims About Ciri in The Witcher 4

Doug Cockle, the iconic voice behind Geralt of Rivia in CD Projekt's *The Witcher* series, has robustly responded to the backlash surrounding *The Witcher 4*'s focus on Ciri as its protagonist. In a video released by Fall Damage, Cockle dismissed the criticism, calling it "stupid" and refuting claims that the game's direction is "woke."

"There's nothing woke about it," Cockle stated emphatically. "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 in focus to Ciri, Geralt's adoptive daughter, who is set to lead not just the next game but potentially the entire upcoming trilogy.

Addressing the fans' concerns about Geralt's absence from the spotlight, Cockle explained, "We can't just have Geralt for every single game for *The Witcher* ad nauseam, out through eternity. We've seen the end of Geralt's journey. *Blood and Wine* was supposed to wrap up that journey." He expressed his enthusiasm for Ciri taking the lead, saying, "I celebrate Ciri. I celebrate her being the protagonist. So all you people who think it's woke... [blows raspberry]."

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Cockle further emphasized the narrative justification for Ciri's prominence, rooted deeply in the original *The Witcher* novels by Andrzej Sapkowski. "If you read the books, then you understand why CD Projekt went down this avenue," he said. "There's a whole rich world of stuff to explore with Ciri, that they didn't do when they put her into *Witcher 3*, because the story was about Geralt. But she hints at it."

He encouraged critics to delve into the source material, suggesting it would offer a better understanding and appreciation of 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."

While *The Witcher* games take place after the events of Sapkowski's novels, the author has maintained a distance from the games' continuation of Geralt's story. Nonetheless, Sapkowski, like CD Projekt, recognizes Ciri's pivotal role and potential to carry forward the narrative when Geralt's journey takes a pause.

IGN previously explored the return of Geralt in *The Witcher 4* with CD Projekt's franchise and lore designers, Cian Maher and Marcin Batylda, who confirmed that the game's timeline aligns cohesively with the established events.