Netflix's The Witcher has quietly been blazing a trail for the recent mainstream acceptance of video game IP making the jump to TV, best exemplified by HBOs The Last of Us and Amazon's Fallout adaptations. We learned in 2022 that Henry Cavill would be laying down his swords at the end of Season 3, with Australian actor Liam Hemsworth set to take up the mantle of The White Wolf in the upcoming Season 4.
Speaking to Collider (thanks, Eurogamer), Freya Allen, who portrays Ciri in the series, has appealed to fans who might find the change challenging. Describing the situation as not being "ideal" and that fans "can be very attack-y", Allen said: "I don't want to speak for [Hemsworth], but from what I've understood, I feel like he's wanting to try and bring the heart. He's been training; I'm excited to see what he does. And he's such a lovely guy. I hope people give him the time of day, you know?"
It remains unknown precisely why Henry Cavill left the show, as he had previously indicated he would see the series through seven full seasons if necessary. Netflix has already renewed The Witcher for a fifth season, the series' last.
Are you willing to give Liam Hemsworth a fair shake as Geralt of Rivia, or is Henry Cavill now synonymous with the role? In the comments section below, remember that it wasn't all that long ago that the idea of Superman portraying The Butcher of Blaviken seemed like a stretch.
[source collider.com]
Comments 42
He could be great but its just hard going from Henry, whom I thought was amazing, to literally anyone else. Will give it a go but am not holding out hope..
Henry leaving isn't the reason why I haven't been watching, I haven't even watched his last season.
Really liked the first series but I got bored of the 2nd series halfway through episode 2. Not a big fan of Hemsworth as I don't really think he is that good an actor but I hope he does a good job otherwise he's going to get savaged..let's face it he's going to be savaged.
If only the writers would stick to the source material instead of turning it into bad fan fiction.
I'll probably give the new season a look, but haven't especially liked the series since the first season. With that, the strange time-line really helped add mystery, and the feeling of a story played out over decades. Since then, they dumbed things down chronologically, and turned the bard into a swash-buckler, and it's lost much of its charm
From Googie: Neither Cavill nor the show's creators have given a reason for his departure. However, in 2021, Cavill told the Philippine Star that he struggled to find a "balance between the showrunners' vision and my love for the books,"
This seems like a very clear reason for leaving to me. He thinks that the Witcher tv series has become bad fan fiction.
Creating a movie or show with an already built in audience should be such a home run, but then show runners seem to do everything they can to annoy that audience and then call them names. It baffles me.
I find it hilarious how people hated Henry when he was cast as Geralt and made fun of his wig, calling it bad cosplay. Only for them to pull a 180 and praise him to death all over the internet as one of the best and most attractive actors ever. Imo, it was because of his comments about being a PC gamer and a nerd. He was embraced by the PC community and the rest is history.
For the record, I was a fan ever since I saw him in The Immortals. I'll give Liam a chance, because I like the show overall and couldn't care less about the source material. I always find close adaptations boring. If it's not ridiculous like Dragon Ball Evolution, then I'm sure it will be worth a watch.
He is a bad actor in general so definitely not giving it a chance.
Trash since series 2. Respect to Cavell for walking away from what was probably a very nice payday.
I'm still miffed Henry Cavill isn't going to be Superman again tbh.
On topic: I never got past the first season of The Witcher anyway and got caught up in stuff on Netflix like Wu Assassin etc
First couple of seasons were good, if occasionally confusing, but series 3 has been poor - and what the **** happened with Jaskier's sexuality spin? Poor writing and I dread to think how the next 2 series will pan out...
Henry is off to do his Warhammer 40K series on Prime (he paints the lead mini-figures in his spare time!) before he (hopefully) takes on the role of Bond.
The battle of Sodden Hill is scarred in my mind. It was supposed to be a huge battle
fought between the Northern realms and Nilfgaard with over a hundred thousand soldiers and twenty two mages.
The show had a couple of mages and a fireball. It was f**king awful.
@BIG3 absolutely, if someone should be critiqued (not harassed, that's never acceptable) it's that lousy writers room they put together.
@Robinsad I know right, they have the way paved and everything's in their favor yet, they can still mess it up so bad.
Henry left it because the series writers were not loyal to the original story. He showed that the series is misdirected. The new actor looks like a second hand replacement that may or may not work. That's why the team is now trying yo show that all is good, but it's not.
@Robinsad exactly. How easily they lost the main fans of the series, those who already knew the setting and characters
@BIG3 it's shocking how they lost a treasure and try to make up something else using the original elements, and of course without that much success
Write bad fan fiction, you're not going to get the best reaction. That isn't 'attacky.'
I didn't even watch the last season because I knew Henry Cavill was leaving after it.
To me, it's just changing actors is what bothers me. Doesn't matter how good the new actor is. It's a completely different person.
About as much chance as the writers gave Henry and the original books.
She ain't wrong but criticising said fanbase doesn't seem like the way to solve it.
Changing actor for the main character after a couple of season is the death sentence for every series. It really doesn't matter how great or bad the new actor is. It only works if it's implemented in the story like with doctor who.
Netflix haven't done the source material any justice. Half of what's on screen never came from any of the stories. A missed opportunity and Henry saw that.
Nope. No Cavil - No Witcher.
@BIG3
And bullying a star and a fan out of the show.
Shows you how absolute dogshiiit the showrunners and their priorities are
All you needed to do was take one look at what they did with Eskel to know you shouldn't waste your time on that ***** show
Henry leaving isn't as big a problem as the writers room for this show. I've read the books, and this show ain't it. Even as a fantasy show excluding the source material it is very bad.
I will. Liam will put a good work.
I also wont tune in because they will try to cover 3 books in 2 seasons (if they even bother using the books). Either way I predict it will be a rushed mess and race to the finish.
The issue was not Liam though was it? it's that egomaniac Lauren and her writing team that thinks they can craft a better story than the source material; when they all failed as a real book author.
only season one is worth watching with yennifer boobies.
I didn't know the story, so I enjoyed the first 2 seasons, but dropped it after 2 episodes into the third. It made me think of season two of The Walking Dead in that you could tell something changed (showrunner was fired, the guy who wrote and directed Shawshank and Green Mile ffs lol) for the worse.
I mean, messing it up for fans of the story, then again for people just trying to be entertained...and it almost seems like they're already trying to pin it on Liam.
No, and the issue is not just that Cavil left, it's that he left on principle and love for the character and source material. He left only because he hated what they were doing with it and Cavil and earned my trust in these matters.
@naruball the turnaround was actually because (surprise) he was actually very good in the role, and gave very good characterisation of Geralt, and made it very clear he knew the character and how they've been portrayed in their various appearances, not just because he became popular due to liking computer games.
Witchers are like ghostbusters just have liam be a different witcher
@naruball The teaser they have didn't look the best, in action he looked great though. He changed minds because his performance was undeniable and the work and love for the character really showed.
@DarkTron then why was he not praized for his previous roles?
@Jaz007 so, in other words, judging Liam before anyone has seen him in the role is wrong, right? Because that's exactly what happened with Henry.
I get the point that people don't want to watch the show anymore because of the writing, though.
It would be nice if the writers gave Geralt a chance.
The problem with the series is not necessarily the cast, but mainly the bad writing. Changing the focus to Ciri and Yennefer destroyed the narrative.
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