Aussie heartthrob Liam Hemsworth is set to replace Henry Cavill in upcoming seasons of Netflix’s The Witcher, leaving fans of the hit fantasy series confused and outraged.
The first season of The Witcher arrived on Netflix in 2019, with Henry Cavill playing the cult fantasy series’ protagonist, Geralt of Rivia.
Cavill was originally committed to the series for seven seasons, often sharing his adoration for the book series and video game on which the series is based on.
But it was announced on Sunday morning that Cavill’s run as Geralt would be coming to a premature end, Netflix confirming the youngest Hemsworth brother would be taking his place from Season 4 onwards.
“It’s official: The Witcher is returning for Season 4, and Henry Cavill will be handing his swords to Liam Hemsworth as the new Geralt of Rivia after Season 3,” The Witcher’s Twitter account said.
“Welcome to the Witcher family, @LiamHemsworth!”
Tweet from @witchernetflix
Cavill took to Instagram to endorse his successor, but did not give an explanation for his departure.
“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,” Cavill wrote.
“Liam, good sir, this character has such a wonderful depth to him, enjoy diving in and seeing what you can find.”
Hemsworth, who showed off his action chops in the massively-popular Hunger Games franchise, returned Cavill’s praise in his social media announcement.
“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.”
‘Just stop the series’
But fans did not share Hemsworth’s excitement, calling the casting change “some kind of joke”.
“Liam Hemsworth? The show will definitely crash and burn,” wrote one fan.
“He doesn’t have what it takes to be the Geralt of Rivia.”
Others said they would rather see the series cancelled altogether, rather than see Hemsworth take the helm.
“Not gonna lie it would be better to just stop the series … this is really disappointing,” another said.
“Just cancel this disaster of a show. Henry was the only good thing about it.”
Tweet from @blurayangel
But why?
The announcement comes just days after Cavill confirmed he would be returning to play Superman in future DC films, leading some to speculate that the decision was due to his packed schedule.
But there’s also a possibility that the decision was made over behind-the-scenes drama.
Cavill has previously expressed his adoration for The Witcher book series and video game and expressed his wishes for the show to stay as close to the source material as possible.
“As far as the preparation goes, coming into this, I wanted the character to have a closer relationship to the character in the books, I wanted him to be more book accurate,” he told Hardware Zone in December 2021.
He suggested this had led to on-set conflict, saying he was “campaigning” for his character to sound more intellectual, rather than “just be a grumpy snowman”.
“Every day I was pushing this stuff as far as prep goes … At the present he can be a little uncommunicative. And I’m obviously working on that.”
This theory is bolstered by comments by Beau DeMayo, a former producer on The Witcher, who said the writers did not like the source material.
“I’ve been on show – namely Witcher – where some of the writers were not or actively disliked the books and games (even actively mocking the source material),” he said during a Q&A session in his Instagram stories.
“It’s a recipe for disaster and bad morale. Fandom as a litmus test checks egos, and makes all the long nights worth it. You have to respect the work before you’re allowed to add to its legacy.”
Cavill will make his final appearance as Geralt of Rivia in Season 3 of The Witcher, set to arrive on Netflix in 2023.
