Liam Hemsworth is replacing Henry Cavill as The Witcher‘s Geralt Of Rivia
Cavill will still star in the Netflix series' third season, due out in summer 2023, with Hemsworth taking over for the fourth
Aux News The Witcher
Woof, we weren’t kidding when we called Henry Cavill “Mr. Popular” earlier this week, huh?
This, in reference to a press release dropped on our heads by Netflix today, announcing that Cavill will not be returning as Geralt Of Rivia for the fourth season of its fantasy adaptation The Witcher, and will, instead, be replaced by Quibi’s own Liam Hemsworth in the part.
Hemsworth and Cavill both issued statements on Instagram today announcing the news, with Cavill saying that he “will be laying down my medallion and my swords for Season 4.” (Cavill will still be playing Geralt for the show’s third season, which is slated to arrive online in summer 2023, to be clear.) Cavill didn’t give a reason for his departure, although its easy to speculate that an increasingly crowded film schedule—include various signs and portents that he’s going to be resuming his duties as Warner Bros. Discovery’s resident Superman in a serious way pretty soon—might have impacted the decision.
Hemsworth, meanwhile, issued his own statement, expressing his delight at taking on the role of Geralt, a mutant monster hunter who finds himself inevitably swept up into vast and deadly plots by scheming nobles and magic users. “Henry,” Hemsworth wrote, “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.”
The Witcher last released new episodes in December 2021. One thing that Netflix’s press release didn’t address was whether the show would be going full-on The Crown with this move, and swapping out Cavill’s co-stars Anya Chalotra and Freya Allan as well, while it was busy getting itself a brand new Geralt.
79 Comments
Eh, I think we’ve got a more final “Yeah but nah” sound…
Can’t say that I feel this being good news. Like in the least. I think Cavill’s performance as Geralt, and the dynamic he and Allan had to infuse Geralt’s and Ciri’s story with genuine emotion, is everything essentially keeping that show afloat and functioning. And I don’t say that lightly as when I watched the second season, almost everything not related to Geralt and Ciri was comically non-sensical.So while I always respect a performer’s decision to move on, nothing I’ve seen from Hemsworth makes me think that he can carry that load. Especially because this is not a show that has shown any ability to help the actors, but instead heavily leans on them to cover for a lot of weaknesses.
This is a firm “NO” from me. Cavill’s perfomance “allowed me” to enjoy the rest of the show’s problems. Nearly every Geralt scene gave me something to enjoy.Disappointing news—I’m not against casting changes, but a fourth-season actor swap and the loss of a Cavill, plus Number Two Hemsworth, is not adding up to a positive.
It sucks that this lackluster show is getting a 4th season lead role replacement on Netflix because of contractional reasons. Meanwhile they cancel every other cool show on Netflix after 2 seasons.
Sandman fans would really like a second season thank you.
Yeah but there’s like 6 of ya’ll, witcher is actually really popular
Well, we made it the number-one English-language Netflix series for all of August, so at least give us credit for being a dedicated half-dozen.
I’m really sorry for them, bc their next season will be canceled by the end of the year
That’s going to be really awkward after yesterday’s announcement.
Im sorry, Sandman Netflix fans? 🤔
No, fans of semi-retired professional wrestler James Fullington. 🙄
I dunno, maybe their policy of cancelling after acouple seasons is actually saving us from more of this crap.I mean, what if Brit Marling had some scheduling conflict and Season 4 of the OA ended up with Amy Schumer in the lead role.
I highly doubt Cavill is leaving due to contracts. It’s likely because season 2 and 3 are straying so very very far from the source material, which Cavill has constantly professed his love for.
That’s just a dumb & nieve fan theory. Go read the Kotaku article explaining that all that nonsense. Everything in Hollywood comes down to money and contracts. Not “faithfulness to the source material” Lol 🤣.
Presumably some permutation of Cavill getting tired of the role, or too busy with other things (movies) he’d rather be doing, or potential behind-the-scenes drama (e.g. conflicts with the showrunner). Too bad, I think he’s great in the role.Liam Hemsworth? I… I guess. If they do as good a job on hair and makeup and costuming with him as they did with Cavill, then he could probably handle the role (which, let’s face it, does not require a lot of complex emoting).
I’m going to argue against the role not requiring a lot of complex emoting as I do genuinely think that Cavill did a ton in that role. The whole point of his take on Geralt was to constantly convey that as much as Geralt spoke about not caring about things, he truly did. In addition, there was that struggle on how to reach out to Ciri, to be able to connect with her on that level as well as making his anger about her abduction feel different from his normal actions.The show actual asked a lot from Cavill, especially because the writing was often failing at that support, which makes me so worried about Hemsworth here.
Emoting doesn’t always entail a bunch of sound and fury, even in action movies.
Spartacus is the only show I can think of that pulled off lead actor replacement . Though that was due to obvious circumstances. It was also a cult show on a channel that no one really watched. And the new lead was 100% downgrade.Cavill brings a lot to the role through brute force of his charisma, which Liam has never seemed to possess.This probably doesn’t end well, but, they might get two seasons out of Hemsworth from sheer they might need to start shooting S5 before S4 even airs since S3 hasn’t yet.
This guy agrees. Completely impossible to switch actors mid stream.
“Spartacus is the only show I can think of that pulled off lead actor replacement . Though that was due to obvious circumstances. It was also a cult show on a channel that no one really watched. And the new lead was 100% downgrade.”I’m sorry, you think Spartacus pulled off a lead actor replacement but the new lead was a 100% downgrade?
Having a busy schedule I get but wasn’t it Cavill, himself who actively campaigned for the role, being a huge fan of the series?
My impression is, that’s why he’s leaving — supposedly, the showrunners and writers don’t actually like the source material and were stearing it in other directions that Cavill didn’t like. I have no idea if that’s true, FWIW.
Yeah, I think they could put the gray wig on the other guy and be fine
So you’ve never seen it
Do I really need to?
Presumably some permutation of Cavill getting tired of the role,
I doubt this. AFAIK Cavill is a huge geek and fan of The Witcher books and games. It’s part of what makes this whole recasting situation so upsetting.
Being a fan of a thing doesn’t mean he’s enjoyed making every part of it.
I’m guessing it’s because he got the nod to be the next Bond. It isn’t looking like DC gonna give him a long term contract, and he’s only on the hook for two cameos. The only thing that really floating around that would be a steady good gig for him, that he actually wants (because he did like The Witcher) would be Bond.
Would even Bond be a total time commitment though? I guess Bond and an increased Superman presence together might present enough schedule conflicts, but Netflix doesn’t have to release seasons on any particular timeline if they don’t want to. We could get a season 3 in 2024 and season 4 in 2026 and it wouldn’t make much difference. That would presumably leave plenty of time to accommodate a two franchise films and a TV show. Although I guess that is three fairly physical roles. Someone mentioned he’d been injured badly on The Witcher, so minimizing possible dangerous roles is probably a good idea.
15+ years of commitment, that you have to put first. That means less people willing to work with you in case your schedule randomly changes. Also the Broccolis have the right IIRC to approve what you can and cannot take while under contract.
Unless somehow Games Workshop actually plans to make live action Warhammer 40K
Given the recent way Amazon handling things, and they control that for the time being IIRC since 19′, doubt it gonna happen.
I get that the point is Cavill being a huge 40k nerd, but I really don’t see any major star’s agent getting excited about their client being in a 40k project. It’s either going to be a bit part that could diminish drawing power long-term or it’s going to be so much makeup and costume that whoever’s under it is unrecognizable. That’s fine for a one-off cameo but no agent/manager is going to be happy about that for an ongoing series.
Lmao no dude it’s superman
I’m not being wokey here but I really doubt Cavill fits the Bond profile at this precise moment, what with the clamour for a Black Bond etc. It would seem strange to go for someone who is like the traditional template of the character when the writers are trying to modernise these movies.
I, uh…think it’ll be better? (Dun flame me; I am but a poor internet wretch slaving away in the hot-takes factory.)
Granted, I’ve only seen the first season of The Witcher, but the reason I didn’t bother watching the second is because I liked the source material a lot better than some of the wooden acting.Less wood would be good.
You really think Liam Hemsworth is gonna be the one to deliver that, though?
I find Hemsworth boring, and Cavill makes a very uneven show very watchable, this is a bad trade.
Yeah, that’s how I feel. I have nothing against Liam. He’s… fine. But he’s so forgettable.
Exactly. It’s not a great show; I’m not sure how much of that is due to the source material or the show Game-of-Thrones-ing it up, but it has tone issues and Cavill seeming to both get and fit Geralt’s–IDK, exasperated stoicism?–helps smooth out the bumpiness. I don’t see Hemsworth maintaining that. If nothing else, the fact that I don’t see how they’ll make him look like anything but a high school drama kid in a gray wig is going to take away the one thing that allowed sufficient suspension of disbelief in the first place.
With Cavill gone this is just Xena with a bigger budget. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but I think it’s a serious drop in tier of quality
Xena with a bigger budget – that’s how I described Wheel of Time as I slipped into a coma.
Welp, that’s one way to commit show seppuku.
I doubt they really had a choice. They know how popular Caville is as Geralt, but if he wanted to go and they didn’t have a contractual way to keep him, then there was not much they could do. Heck, if he wanted out and made it clear that he wouldn’t be able to do his best work in the show they would be advised to let him out. Caville was badly hurt during season 2. It was almost a career ender, so he may have wanted out for reasons other than upcoming roles.
Right, I know they didn’t have a choice in keeping Cavill. I honestly believe ending the show is the best route to take instead of hiring a replacement. There aren’t many instances of live action shows replacing the lead with success.
Geralt seemed like a character that plays much more to Cavill’s strengths than Kal El does, but superhero movies sometimes make a billion dollars and it’s not hard to see a good Superman movie doing those numbers (we haven’t had one of those in like 40 years).There’s a natural point in the narrative to switch actors after Geralt suffers a long convalescence, so they can probably make this work, but I can’t say I’m not a little bummed out about it.The story does switch focus from centering Geralt to centering Ciri at some point, so I’m wondering if Freya Allan is up for it of if they’ll have to recast her too.
Damn. I’m no huge fan of Cavill, but he does a great Geralt and I agree with the other commenters in that his performance as Geralt and the way he works with Freya Allan’s Ciri makes it easier to overlook the show’s shortcomings in other areas.Liam Hemsworth certainly looks like he’d make a decent Geralt as far as appearance, but the rest remains to be seen. I sure hope this doesn’t end up torpedoing the show. 😬
I would have chosen Larry Hemsworth.
He barely has an 8 pack!
Rob needs more love, and if the floods have fucked over his oyster farm, he could use the work:This isn’t a joke. That’s Chris’s cousin, and yes, he is an oyster farmer.
What shitty news, with a side of shitty casting choice. Not gonna bother with the show any more.
I loved watching this with my then-not-ex-gf. Not too sad the show runners have now made poor decisions inevitably resulting in the shows demise. So very apt.
Damn, it’s a real shame that this show had to end after 3 seasons.
More like The Switcher
I’ll probably start watching again after Liam Hemsworth regenerates into David Tennant.
Hemsworth is a fine enough actor, but it’s Cavil’s role. They should either stop making the show or wait till he’s available. This is sad for the show. Imagine if they replaced William Shatner with Jim Carry in Star Trek. Sure, they’re both over-actors but REALLY?
They *did* replace William Shatner with Jim Carrey once!
What’s really surprising is that Cavill’s a massive geek and genuinely a big fan of the books and the games so it seems unlikely he’d be tired of the role or want to give it up. And I assume he’s worked his original WB contract now and wouldn’t be compelled by them leave the show to make more Superman, and could have worked around his schedule. Maybe he simply followed the dumpster truck of cash Warners offered him (can’t blame him) but it feels like there’s probably more going on here.
The Witcher has had a pretty grueling filming schedule up to now, and if he wanted to focus on film (there’s been a lot of rumors floating around about him being cast in various up coming movies), it might just make more sense for him to leave.
Bland, boring and overrated.Geralt Of Vegemite.
As an Australian, it’s clear to me that you’ve never eaten Vegemite.
Salty, disgusting and overrated?
Regardless of where you stand, I’d be hard pressed to declare Vegemite as either bland or boring. For better or worse, it gets your attention!
lol great decision by netflix here, they really know what they’re doing
oh well. So will it be explained in a Multiverse way or not addressed at all? Now flashbacks will have to be re-filmed, alas..
Sadly, Dick Sargent is no longer with us…
Meanwhile Luke Hemsworth still waiting wether he still be back on the Westworld or Waititi still need an actor to play an actor for Thor in a play.
Zeppo Hemsworth is available Hollywood!
Well that is a tremendously massive drop off.
Good news imo. The show was shit only saved by Cavill and I can imagine he got sick of some the story and tone choices made by the adaptation. Add to this the fact he’s got bags of charm that Snyder’s version of Superman never had time for and perhaps we’ll get a Cavill starring Superman movie that does the character justice.
Just cancel the show tbh
I’ve seen reports that the writers were actively dismissive of the source material, and for someone like Cavill who was a true fan that was probably a tough pill to swallow.Combined with the fact that he will be playing Superman again and his desire to fight for The Witcher is probably lower than it would have been. I would suspect he chose not to renew his contract – or something of the sort – and is just going to give up on it.
Its a shame, because honestly he was the best part of the show and this essentially kills it.
I’ve seen reports that the writers were actively dismissive
of the source material, and for someone like Cavill who was a true fan
that was probably a tough pill to swallow.Combined with
the fact that he will be playing Superman again and his desire to fight
for The Witcher is probably lower than it would have been. I would
suspect he chose not to renew his contract – or something of the sort –
and is just going to give up on it.
Its a shame, because honestly he was the best part of the show and this essentially kills it.If it weren’t for the fact that the writers don’t seem to want to stick to the source and thus its going to dramatically change anyway i would have preferred some sort of delayed release to get around Cavill’s schedule. But i’d be inclined to believe he doesn’t want to do that if they are so dismissive of the source, which he is a fan of
The frequency of cast replacements of this production is incredible. The only other show that has had this amount of regular cast replacements was the Game of Thrones. In both cases it has always been secondary characters, but never has the title character actor been replaced. I am sure I will give Hemsworth a chance, but I don’t know if I will keep watching if he doesn’t convince me.
Mostly just evidence that netflix is run by an algorithm…or deeply lazy executives. At some point the AI/executives went from “Geralt is superficially like Thor” and then started backwards from that, trying to recast Thor instead of recasting Cavill. The result is this deeply odd decision.Best route would have been to simply wrap it up after 3, leave it open to Cavill to return to with less commitment in the future, maybe as movies or shorter seasons, and just focus on the prequel series they’re currently developing in the meantime.
Oh, it’s a shame the show is ending after its third season, but this is Netflix I guess.
Cavill has the deep scowl going on. That will always work in a show like this. I don’t think Hem can do that. I picture him trying for an expression that just ends up looking like “Duh.”
Cavill is better as Geralt than as Superman. This stinks. Hopefully whoever directs the next Superman project ends up doing a better job with him than that Snyder mistake.