The Big Mystery Behind Henry Cavill Leaving 'The Witcher' Solved

Source: Rotten Tomatoes

Cavill said that his time as Geralt of Rivia on Netflix's fantasy series was coming to an end in a post on his Instagram at the time. “My journey as Geralt of Rivia has been filled with both monsters and adventures, and alas, I will be laying down my medallion and my swords for Season 4,” he wrote. “In my stead, the fantastic Mr. Liam Hemsworth will be taking up the mantle of the White Wolf. As with the greatest of literary characters, I pass the torch with reverence for the time spent embodying Geralt and enthusiasm to see Liam’s take on this most fascinating and nuanced of men. Liam, good sir, this character has such a wonderful depth to him, enjoy diving in and seeing what you can find.”

This news came as a surprise to Henry Cavill, who had worked hard to get the series made and to play the monster hunter with a gravelly voice. Fans are now trying to figure out why Henry Cavill left The Witcher and why we should have seen it coming.

Why did Henry Cavill stop working on The Witcher?

Source: CNET

Why did Henry Cavill stop working on The Witcher? No official reason was given for why Cavill left The Witcher, but as you might expect from the passionate nerd community (of which this writer is a part), there are some good theories. As a true fan of the original books by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski and the video games made by CD Projekt Red, Cavill fought hard to be cast in the show and took on the lead role of Geralt as long as the writers stayed true to the source material. In 2019, he started working as the White Wolf for a salary that would rise to $1 million per episode.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter in November 2021, Cavill said he was "absolutely" committed to telling Geralt's story for seven seasons, “As long as we can keep telling great stories which honor Sapkowski’s work.” It's possible that the show was starting to stray too far from the source material, which is why Cavill is leaving. In the same THR interview, showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich hinted that she and Cavill didn't agree on how Geralt was portrayed on the show. “A lot of the notes he was sending to me were about Geralt’s dialogue — could he, first of all, say more,” Hissrich said. “Everybody came out of season one laughing and loving Geralt’s fuming. But Henry was saying that when you read the books you spend a lot of time in Geralt’s head. So how can we put that on the page?”

In an interview with THE STAR in December 2021, Cavill brought up the fact that he and the writers don't always agree. “The toughest part for me was finding that balance between the showrunners’ vision and my love for the books and trying to bring that Geralt to the showrunners’ vision. It’s about treading a fine line there. It’s the showrunners’ story and so it’s an adaptation. The tricky bit for me was finding Geralt from the books’ place within that and being able to serve both as much as I could,” he said. “The things that I pushed for; it was not necessarily just more dialogue. It was bringing a more book-accurate Geralt to the screen. Because as I’m sure you know in the books, Geralt is an amateur philosopher. He’s an intellectual. He’s wise and thoughtful. Yes, he’s at times morose, morbid and snarky. But it’s important for me to have the character be three-dimensional.” He continued: “And it’s tricky to do, as I was saying earlier because there’s a certain vision and there’s a certain set, storyline, and plot. And so, it was about me trying to find Geralt’s place within that. All of my asks and requests were along the lines of just being faithful to the source material.”

In a rare look behind the scenes, former writer Beau DeMayo said he left The Witcher in part because of how other writers treated the books and games. On an Instagram story that no longer exists, DeMayo said, some of [the writers] were not [fans] or actively disliked the books and games (even actively mocking the source material)” according to Screenrant.

One person tweeted a screenshot of all the times Cavill said he didn't like where the show was going, and it sounds like Cavill may have finally lost his fight. But a more cynical view of his leaving is that he's leaving to avoid playing the Man of Steel in the next chapter of Superman, either for more money or because his schedule wouldn't let him. “The character means so much to me. It’s been five years now. I never gave up hope,” Cavill told the audience at 92NY in New York City, where he recorded a live episode of the Happy Sad Confused podcast. “It’s amazing to be here now talking about it again. There is such a bright future ahead for the character. I’m so excited to tell a story with an enormously joyful Superman.”

The Witcher has become something of a flagship franchise for Netflix. The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf, an animated dark fantasy movie for adults, will come out in 2021, and The Witcher: Blood Origin, a four-part prequel series starring Michelle Yeoh that takes place 1200 years before the main show, will come out on December 25, 2022.

Who took Henry Cavill's place as The Witcher?

Source: JoBlo

From season 4 on, Liam Hemsworth took over as Geralt. He is best known as Chris Hemsworth's younger brother, and also as Gale from The Hunger Games. In a post on Instagram, Hemsworth talked about how excited he was to join the Netflix fantasy show. “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 honored that he’s handing me the reins and allowing me to take up the White Wolf’s blades for the next chapter of his adventure,” he wrote. “Henry, I’ve been a fan of yours for years and was inspired by what you brought to this beloved character. I may have some big boots to fill, but I’m truly excited to be stepping into The Witcher world.”’

Fans weren't too happy when their favorite character was played by someone else. “Henry Cavill leaving the witcher after begging Netflix for the role and being the biggest fan of the franchise is making the report that the writers hate the books seem more and more plausible. they chased that man away from the series. this is sick,” one tweeted. Another wrote: “yes I wanted henry cavil to be superman again BUT NOT AT THE COST OF LOSING HIM AS GERALT THE WITCHER.”

The Witcher can be watched on Netflix as a stream. The fourth season should start airing in early 2023.