Not unlike many franchises nowadays, The Witcher has become multi-faceted in its reach. First, it started as novels, then became the beloved video game series by CD Projekt Red, then it was picked up by Netflix and turned into a live-action and animated franchise. Fans and critics praised this series, and a prequel series is set to arrive this December. The main series stars Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia, and he’s gotten a lot of admiration for his subtle yet fun take on the man who is a Witcher. But there’s a twist in this tale, The Witcher Season 4 was just confirmed by Netflix, but Cavill will not be Geralt in it.
The shocking news comes from both Netflix and Cavill himself. He went to Instagram to confirm that Season 3 would be his last and that Liam Hemsworth would play the upcoming Season 4 version of Geralt of Rivia:
“My journey as Geralt of Rivia has been filled with both monsters and adventures, and alas, I will be laying down my medallion and my swords for Season 4,” Cavill said. “In my stead, the fantastic Mr Liam Hemsworth will be taking up the mantle of the White Wolf. As with the greatest of literary characters, I pass the torch with reverence for the time spent embodying Geralt and enthusiasm to see Liam’s take on this most fascinating and nuanced of men.”
How eloquent, but it still raises a lot of questions. Not the least is, “why is he leaving the role?” It’s not a stretch to say that this has been Henry Cavill’s most significant role since the fallout with the DCEU due to Warner Bros not bringing him back. Many people didn’t think he could pull off Geralt, yet he completely redefined the role. The writers themselves admitted that his way of playing Geralt forced them to rewrite the script so that they could feed into his take.
There hasn’t been word of discord between Cavill and Netflix, but then again, he might be under an NDA and can’t say anything. Another reason might be health. The star of the show has had multiple health problems on the set. Including almost going blind because of the contacts he wears for the roles, he’s gotten injured while filming, and even getting COVID. So perhaps he’s “reading the room” and taking his leave before he gets fully maimed.
The final possibility is that his schedule is getting busier. After all, he also announced recently that he would be back in the role of Superman in the newly branded DC Universe headed by James Gunn and Peter Safran. So if he’s getting more movies to do in the DCU, on top of the other films he’s attached to, he might be a bit too busy to be a Witcher. We’ll have to see what happens when The Witcher Season 4 arrives down the road.
Source: Instagram
