With season three scheduled to be released in summer 2023, Henry Cavill has already announced that he won’t bereprising his starring role in season four of The Witcher.
As the main character of The Witcher, Geralt of Rivia, and a main character in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU), Superman, Cavill decided that he would be returning to his DCEU role. This announcement was confirmed Friday, October 28th via an Instagram post, where Cavill wrote: “My journey as Geralt of Rivia has been filled with both monsters and adventures, and alas, I will be laying down my medallion and swords for season 4”. Taking Cavill’s place is Liam Hemsworth, the younger brother of Chris Hemsworth. Hemsworth stated that “As a Witcher fan I’m over the moon about the opportunity to play Geralt of Rivia. Henry Cavill has been an incredible Geralt, and I’m honoured that he’s handing me the reins and allowing me to take up the White Wolf’s blade for the next chapter of his adventure”.
However, not many fans are happy with this sudden, strange news. It’s written that this event is considered to be “the most bizarre, most crushing recasting in modern memory”. The Witcher fans are said to be so disappointed and shocked by the news that they are threatening to “’boycott’ Netflix series after shock casting change announcement”. Erik Kain, a senior contributor of Forbes, writes that they “don’t think Netflix’s The Witcher will survive this, and that’s not a knock against Hemsworth. It’s just too radical a change. It will be extremely jarring”.
It is suspected that Cavill rejoined the DCEU team because it “likely pays better than The Witcher”, while some fans believe that Cavill is leaving because “the series is straying too far from the source material”. Cavill has stated in the past that he “loves The Witcher books, games, and everything in between”, which is why fans lean towards this theory.
Regarding Hemsworth’s portrayal and sudden recasting, time will only tell how the show fairs and if fans will accept him.
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