Henry Cavill’s unexpected departure from The Witcher has long been a hot topic among fans of the Netflix series. The exact reason behind the former Superman star’s exit after three seasons has been hard to pin down, with some pointing to “creative differences” and others believing it came from Cavill’s dissatisfaction with how the show’s direction strayed from the source material, which he is known to be passionate about. Now, showrunner Lauren Hissrich has offered a bit more clarity on Cavill’s choice.
Fans of Cavill faced disappointment on two fronts when he revealed he was stepping away from the role of Geralt, only for his Superman comeback to fall through soon after. According to Hissrich, Cavill had already been eyeing other roles outside of Geralt, and that heavily influenced his decision. She explained to Entertainment Weekly:
He had plans for other roles that he really wanted to commit himself to… and for us, you don’t want to hold someone and force them to be doing something that they don’t want to do. I think that’s why it felt like a really symbiotic decision.
Hissrich explained that talks about recasting Geralt and the initial discussions with Liam Hemsworth about stepping into the role “happened for a while” before the news was made public.
We all knew that a change was going to take place, and we were excited to think about what that change could be and, from my perspective, how that change could fit into story really well.
Some casting choices thrill fans — like Cavill as Geralt — while others spark backlash that lingers long after the announcement — such as Hemsworth stepping in as his replacement. Once it was confirmed that Cavill would not return as Geralt and Hemsworth would take over, fans quickly voiced their disapproval. A petition demanding Cavill’s return for Season 4 gathered over 200,000 signatures in no time. When it was later revealed that Season 4 and Season 5 would mark the end of the series, many fans celebrated the decision and vowed they would skip both seasons.
Of course, anyone familiar with how these things usually unfold knows it may not play out that way. If those opposing the recast truly avoid watching, they lose the chance to leave one-star reviews on Rotten Tomatoes — and that seems unlikely. As a result, it’s expected that The Witcher Season 4 could premiere with record viewership, only to face a wave of backlash from fans still unwilling to accept that sometimes, TV shows and movies simply don’t go the way people want them to.
Source: Entertainment Weekly