The Witcher: Henry Cavill Announces Farewell, But Will Remain A Great Geralt
A few days after the news that officially confirmed the return of Henry Cavill as Superman, Netflix has officially announced the renewal of The Witcher for a fourth season. However, this is not the scoop going around the world: together with the release of the show’s extension, the platform has also specified that Henry Cavill will no longer play the role of Geralt of Rivia after the third season of The. According to internal sources, Thor’s brother, Liam Hemsworth, will inherit the role given future seasons. For the fandom of the series, closely linked to Cavill’s commitment and dedication to the role and the overall success of the product, the news is a real shock. With the series debut in 2019, Cavill managed to surprise everyone with the care, passion and respect shown for the character and Sapkowski’s works.
After building a solid credibility with his strength, and leading the show to achieve incredible success, the interpreter of Geralt had not only proved himself worthy to take on the role of the Strigo, but he had become the beating heart of the entire production. With numerous projects on the horizon, including the return of Superman, Matthew Vaughn’s spy thriller, Guy Ritchie’s new film and incessant speculation about his casting as James Bond, the engagements have likely convinced Henry and Netflix to take different paths. Yet, the void left by a character, a professional, such a strong man can hardly be filled. Let’s see together why.
The Witcher: Passion Motorbike
Carrying on his shoulders the weight of the trust of millions of spectators, Cavill immediately managed to earn the affection of fans, starting from his personal story. Always known as a proud nerd, the actor fell in love with The Witcher thanks to the third chapter of the videogame saga by CD Projekt RED. After immersing himself for dozens of hours in that splendid RPG, Cavill then moved on to the literary works of the saga, written by Andrzej Sapkowski, and ended up harassing his agents and the showrunner of the Netflix series to get the role of Geralt.
Unlike most performers engaged in modern productions, Henry Cavill approached the saga as a fan and then as a professional. Concerning an adaptation, this aspect makes all the difference in the world for an actor: if the Geralt seen in the show has managed to convince even the most sceptical, it is because Cavill himself has worked personally to do justice to the character, to starting from performing all his stunts up to consulting the historic voice actor Doug Cockle to work on the voice of The Witcher.
The protagonist of the Netflix series is by all accounts his flagship, and with the farewell of a face that has become iconic for viewers, the certainties of the show are inevitably destined to waver. Sources inside the production also reveal many creative divergences during the filming of the second season, with Cavill personally committed to doing justice to Geralt and to key aspects of the narrative: the divergent turn taken by the show in the past episodes has left many fans of the written, but still managed to be appreciated precisely for the efforts made by Cavill and associates. Lacking a constant source of inspiration for showrunners, there is a lack of an enthusiast capable of infusing his knowledge and understanding of the works even in the staging. Net of what Geralt’s new interpreter can do, this lack will certainly be filled behind the scenes to ensure the show survives – hoping that Cavill’s farewell is not due to actual creative differences too heavy to digest.
The Shadow of the Witcher
At first glance, all parties involved seem to have absorbed the blow well, appearing enthusiastic and excited to explore new creative paths. We know how little the facade can count in these cases, and in fact, the prospects are far from rosy if you look at it from a mere commercial point of view: the farewell of the leading face of such a famous product cannot fail to influence the future iterations of the series, no matter how much Hemsworth manages to do. Cavill’s name leaves too much space to fill and fans will have a hard time getting close to a new Geralt, especially considering the already tough authoring challenges that await Lauren S. Hissrich and colleagues at the writing stage. The authors are called upon to do a much more coherent and articulated work than the second season, which is admittedly preparatory and very difficult to adapt to the rhythms of the screen.
The next two seasons will prove crucial in this sense, as they will find themselves adapting the densest and most spectacular novels of the Sapkowski saga. Thinking in purely practical terms, Cavill’s farewell may therefore result in the definitive decline of the series or may offer new perspectives linked to the world of The Witcher – with “new” intended as completely original. Whatever the case, it will be very curious to find out how and if they justify such an important change. Luckily for Netflix, Sapkowski’s work in terms of side stories world building is so fragmented that the room for maneuver leaves you spoiled for choice.
Hoping Hemsworth will prove to be a good replacement, or even better an excellent addition that can offer a new look at Geralt given his future adventures, he is certain that the actor will have a great job to do to shake off the weight of a cumbersome legacy. It seems that Liam is also a fan of the saga and intends to do his best to at least ensure continuity in terms of approach and dedication to the character. Of course, the actor will have enough time to prepare properly for this new challenge.
A Future In The Balance
By extolling his humility and his genuine passion for his works, Henry Cavill has won the hearts of fans and is unlikely to be forgotten. The approach that marked the success of the television Geralt is not perfect, but it is very faithful to the soul of the works. If Hemsworth is able, perhaps with the help of Cavill himself, to carry on the same spirit, then we could find ourselves in front of a worthy successor. At the same time, the greatest hope lies in the hands of the authors, who will necessarily have to prove themselves up to the Sapkowski saga.
We still don’t have much information on the third season of The Witcher, other than that the stunt coordinator of the first episode of the series (and the recent Mission Impossible) worked with Cavill for all the episodes. We can therefore expect a lot of action given the near future. At the same time, it will be crucial to see what tricks are used to facilitate the transition from one face to another. The Witcher 3 is scheduled for release in 2023. What do you think of this change? Are you pessimistic or curious? Let us know in the comments!
