The Witcher Season 3 is finally on its way and it will be the last we see of Henry Cavill portraying the iconic Geralt of Rivia character. So, how should the popular Netflix TV series explain his departure and reveal the surprising Liam Hemsworth recast on-screen?
The Witcher has been one of the most promising adaptations for Netflix in recent years, with plenty of source material and an already-established fanbase, of those who have played the games or read the books, the hopes for the series were remarkably high.
The execution of the show has, however, received mixed reviews. There a quite a number of viewers who love this rendition of The Witcher’s story arc. But for others, certain elements, of the characters and plot we see on-screen, have strayed a little far from the original books by Andrzej Sapkowski.
Witcher season 3 changes
Why is Geralt being recast?
Among those frustrated with the direction of the show was Henry Cavill himself, the actor was known to be quite a big fan of the franchise before taking on the role and he wanted to do it the justice he believed it deserved on screen. As a result, there have been rumors of plenty of disagreements over creative decisions, and this is said to be a major factor in Henry Cavill’s leaving the role.
Also, at the time, Henry Cavill was expected to be extremely busy with Superman projects, before James Gunn took over at DC, but Gunn ultimately decided he would be going with a different casting for his extended universe. The announcement of Cavill leaving The Witcher came only days before it was revealed he would not be needed for upcoming DC projects, and it is also likely that he overestimated the conflict between his role as Superman and Geralt of Rivia, given how things panned out.
While Henry Cavill is now working on Warhammer, many are still disappointed at the breakdown of the relationship between The Witcher showrunners and the popular Geralt of Rivia actor. But we still have a full third season of Cavill as Geralt to look forward to.
Liam Hemsworth replaces Henry Cavill
Liam Hemsworth will be stepping up to take the mantle of Geralt in place of Henry Cavill’s absence. Of course, as with any recasting, fans are going to be quite skeptical and trepidatious about the incoming actor, so Liam will have a lot of pressure to perform to the standard set by Cavill.
It will be a very difficult task for both Hemsworth and The Witcher’s showrunners to pull off, but so far, many of the cast and crew of the Netflix show have had nothing but praise for the actor, claiming that he has approached the role with plenty of care and determination to get it right.
It will be interesting to see exactly how he lives up to the pressure and what the writers choose to do in terms of explaining this change in Geralt over the next seasons. But we will have to wait another year or so until Season 4 is released and we finally see the result of the recasting.
What happens to Henry Cavill’s Geralt?
With Season 4 already in production, The Witcher will likely have to explain exactly what causes this change in the appearance of Geralt. There will probably be some if not all, answers revealed in the events of the third season, which will release its first volume on June 29 and the second volume on July 27.
Whether they opt for additional mutation, magic, time travel, or something else altogether, it will likely take some supernatural element to make sense for viewers and get everyone to buy into Liam Hemsworth slotting in as this iconic character.
Another idea that has been floated is the potential for Henry Cavill’s Geralt to die in Season 3 at some point, and be resurrected in the form of another Witcher body, which would give the writers more leniency when it is Liam Hemsworth’s turn as Geralt.
If they choose one of the following options or simply use visual effects to match Henry Cavill’s look in the first few seasons, everyone is curious to see just what it will take to pull off such a challenging task with so many fans waiting.