Good news for fans of the Dungeons and Dragons-based animated series ‘The Legend of Vax Machina’! The popular fantasy action series, streaming on Amazon Prime Video, has been renewed for a fourth season just days after the successful conclusion of its third season. Based on Critical Role’s first D&D campaign, the series has earned fans around the world with its humor, emotional depth, and epic action sequences. The Season 4 renewal was announced on October 23, 2024, by the Critical Role team through a YouTube video, and the news has excited fans. In this article, let’s take a look at Season 4, including release date predictions, story, cast, and fan reactions!
Season 4 Announcement: What Happened?
‘The Legend of Vax Machina’ Season 3 premiered on Prime Video on October 3, 2024, and concluded with a finale on October 24, 2024. The season continued the Chroma Conclave arc, as the Vax Machina team battled enemies like Thordock the Cinder King and Raishon to protect their loved ones, the Taldorei, and Exandria. The season 3 finale featured a shocking character death, the separation of team members, and a teaser for ‘The Whispered One’ (Vecna) at the end, leaving fans in awe.
Within days of the finale’s release, Amazon Prime Video confirmed Season 4. Critical Role cast members Marisha Ray, Sam Riegel, Laura Bailey, and Taliesin Jaffee announced Season 4 in a YouTube video. Sam Riegel, Scanlon voice actor and executive producer, said, “We are thrilled and grateful. We are excited to continue the epic adventures of Vex, Wax, Keeleth, Percy, Pike, Grog, and everyone’s favorite Scanlon.” Thanking the fans for their support, he promised that this season will be even more exciting.
Season 4: Release Date Expectations
There is currently no official release date for Season 4, but we can estimate based on the timeline of the previous seasons. Season 2 was released in January 2023, and Season 3 in October 2024, with a gap of about 20 months. If this trend continues, Season 4 is likely to be released in the summer of 2026 (May-July). Some are hoping that a late 2025 release date is possible due to the massive success of Season 3, but this has yet to be confirmed. Season 4 is also likely to follow a 12-episode, three-episode-a-week format.
Season 4 Story: What to Expect?
Spoiler Alert: The Season 3 finale sees Scanlan leave the Vax Machina to spend more time with his daughter Kaylee, and the team members split up. The final scene features a teaser for ‘The Whispered One’ (Vecna), which suggests that he will be the main villain of Season 4. Based on the fifth arc of Critical Role Campaign 1, Season 4 will see the Vax Machina confront a shadow cult and try to stop the Dread Lich Vecna from resurrecting. This arc will see the team travel to different locations, including Elysium, the undersea volcano, and the undead dwarven metropolis, culminating in an epic final fight.
Season 3 saw a lot of changes compared to the Vex Machina campaign, so Season 4 could also add new elements and character arcs. For example, the character of Pike was heavily involved in Season 3, and new characters like Xerxes Ilerez were introduced, which were not in the original campaign. Fans are hoping that Season 4 will focus on key moments like the Scanlon reunion, the Vex-Vex romance, and the completion of Keeleth's Armente.
Cast: Who's returning?
The main cast is expected to return in season 4, all of whom are critical role original voice actors and executive producers:
Laura Bailey - Vexhalia (Vex), half-elf ranger
Talesin Jaffe - Percival de Rollo (Percy), human gunslinger
Ashley Johnson - Pike Trickfoot, gnome cleric
Liam O'Brien - Vexildon (Vex), half-elf rogue
Marisha Ray - Keeleth of the Air Ashari, half-elf druid
Sam Riegel - Scanlan Shortholdt, gnome bard
Travis Willingham - Grog Strongjaw, Goliath Barbarian
Matthew Mercer - Trinket, various NPCs
Although Scanlan left the team in the season 3 finale, Sam Riegel's statement confirmed his return. Other characters are also expected to reunite, with new NPCs and guest voice actors likely to be added.
Production and background
'The Legend of Vax Machina' was originally funded in 2019 through a Critical Role Team Kickstarter campaign, which raised $11.38 million, setting a record as the most funded TV/film project ever. Amazon Prime Video acquired streaming rights in 2019 and ordered an additional 14 episodes for season 1 and 12 episodes for season 2. Season 4 is being produced by Titmouse Inc., Amazon Studios, and Metapigment, with Brandon Amon serving as showrunner, with Chris Prinosky, Shannon Prinosky, and Ben Kalina serving as executive producers.
More Critical Role Projects
In addition to ‘The Legend of Wax Machina’, Critical Role is developing another animated series based on the second campaign, ‘Mighty Nine’, for Amazon Prime Video, with the scripts for Season 1 already written. This shows the global popularity of Critical Role and their success in fantasy storytelling.
Conclusion
‘The Legend of Wax Machina’ is gearing up for another epic adventure with Season 4. With a powerful villain like Vecna, team reunions, and emotional character arcs, we hope this season will provide fans with another thrilling ride. The Critical Role team, Titmouse Inc., and Amazon Studios will once again bring the magic of Exandria to the screen. Fans looking forward to Season 4 can catch up on the story by watching the original campaign episodes on the Critical Role YouTube channel.