The story of Geralt of Rivia has been one of the biggest things that Netflix has done over the last several years. It even held records for a time for being the most-watched series on the streaming platform. The adaptation of the books and video game franchise led to its long lifespan. The Witcher Season 4 is in the works currently with Season 5 already confirmed. However, in the transition between Seasons 3 & 4, there was a significant shift in the acting. To be more specific, the actor who played Geralt in the first three seasons, Henry Cavill, decided to bow out.
On the same day it was announced, Netflix revealed that Liam Hemsworth would take over the role of Geralt. Many were stunned by this on many levels, not the least of which is that Cavill brought a certain weight and gravitas to Geralt. In fact, the team behind the camera noted that Cavill did so well that they altered the dialogue because he was playing Geralt so perfectly with fewer words!
Just as important, the team has been dancing around how The Witcher Season 4 will reveal the “new Geralt” and how the characters might note the “physical change,” or if they’ll admit the change at all! Netflix dropped the first image of Liam as Geralt, which you can see above. If nothing else, they didn’t do anything too drastic to make Liam stand out and instead tried to keep things consistent with how Cavill had his look.
You can definitely tell it’s a different actor, though, especially from the facial aspect. However, given that this is just a “first look,” we’ll have to see how things look and sound by the time things are done. A key element here is not Geralt’s face or hair but how he looks physically. Cavill brought great strength and intensity to the role, including some incredible sword and magic fights.
Liam Hemsworth was stated to have trained hard for the role, but it’s hard to tell his body type in the first look shot.
There’s still no clear reason why Cavill left in the middle of the series despite it being a huge hit on Netflix. Many suspect it’s because the show has been diverging from the books in big ways, and Cavill wasn’t happy about that.
No matter the reason, Liam is Geralt of Rivia now, and we’ll have to wait for the first trailer of Season 4 to see how he resonates with fans.
