In Geralt’s words, “Fuck.” Image source: Netflix
The Witcher goes into overtime – albeit without Henry Cavill in Geralt’s armor. Netflix recently announced that Season 4 will see a new witch: Liam Hemsworth fills in the (big) footsteps Cavill is leaving behind.
Really concrete reasons for Henry Cavill’s exit are currently not known – but some viewers at least think they know them. At least one thing is certain: Many fans are anything but enthusiastic about the development: Among other things, there are threats of a boycott, while tens of thousands are petitioning for Henry Cavill’s return.
So while the witcher’s house is on fire at Netflix, things are looking a lot rosier at CD Projekt Red: Not only five new Witcher games have recently been announced, but also a remake of the very first role-playing game. You can get an overview here:
Witchers and cyberpunks
All the new games that CD Projekt Red is currently working on
Netflix’s new Geralt for Season 4
What happened last: The fact that we will see a new Geralt in Season 4 of The Witcher was announced on October 30, 2022. Henry Cavill gets out, Liam Hemsworth gets in. In the third season, Cavill will still be seen in the role of the witcher, after which the change is pending.
Fans have already visualized what Liam Hemsworth could look like as Geralt. And yes, it is already clear here how little one thinks of the decision and the new casting for The Witcher:
link to Twitter content
What is behind Henry Cavill’s departure?
Superhero instead of witcher? Many fans speculate that Henry Cavill’s return as Superman for DC and Warner Bros. was the main reason for the decision. Only recently, after a few years of uncertainty, it became known that the actor from films such as Man of Steel, Batman v Superman and Justice League can now save the world on the big screen again.
However, another theory is also spreading in the community: The good old creative differences are said to have arisen between Henry Cavill and those responsible for The Witcher on Netflix. Cavill has repeatedly campaigned for the TV series to be as faithful as possible to the novels by author Andrzej Sapkowski.
As a specific example, for The Witcher Season 2, Henry Cavill wanted Geralt to have more of a say and not just limit his communication to swearing and grunts (via GamesRadar). After all, Geralt is considered intellectual and articulate in the books. There are, for example, the following compilations that go with this.
link to YouTube content
With that in mind, fans suspect Cavill has had constant wrangling with those behind the Netflix series. Because, like former producer Beau DeMayo (via TheDirect) meanwhile revealed that some authors of The Witcher could not do anything with the novels and the games and even actively made fun of them.
In retrospect, fans believe Henry Cavill’s exit from The Witcher was a long time coming. However, it is not possible to say with certainty what exactly happened behind the scenes of The Witcher and ultimately led to the Geralt change.
link to Twitter content
Henry Cavill’s plan for seven seasons of The Witcher: Incidentally, Cavill originally communicated that The Witcher would have at least seven seasons and that he himself would be an integral part of it. However, as things stand at present, this will no longer be the case.
The Witcher
What’s next for the Netflix series?
This is how the fans react
The decision to replace Henry Cavill with Liam Hemsworth has been heavily criticized by the community. Many viewers say that if Cavill is no longer playing Geralt, The Witcher will be over for them and that they will no longer be interested in the series. Others also go a little further and declare that they are boycotting the Netflix series completely for this reason.
In the same breath wins a petition gaining momentum, pursuing a clear goal: Henry Cavill got to
The Witcher will be preserved, instead the writers of the Netflix series will be fired. The petition was launched shortly after Cavill’s exit was announced and has already collected over 40,000 signatures.
At the time of writing this article, the petition has already collected over 40,000 signatures.
How to continue with The Witcher
Season 3 of The Witcher premieres on Netflix in Summer 2023 – while Henry Cavill will still embody Geralt. Liam Hemsworth then takes on the role of the witcher for season 4, while the prequel series Blood Origin starts on December 25, 2022 on the same streaming service.
Incidentally, Witcher expert Maurice has drawn a detailed conclusion for the second season. You can see how he evaluates the newer episodes as a lover of novels and video games in the following video:
25:21
How good is The Witcher Season 2? (Spoiler-free review)
How do you feel about Henry Cavill’s exit from The Witcher: does the series lose its appeal for you or can you get over Geralt’s change of actors? Let us know in the comments!
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