Ever since the devastating news that actor Henry Cavill will be leaving The Witcher as its lead, Geralt, and will be replaced by Liam Hemsworth, the internet has been crying and wondering why. Some have speculated that the root of this is a conflict in vision between Cavill and the showrunners of The Witcher.
Season one of The Witcher was divisive (I liked it), and season two went from being “monster of the week” with some overarching plot to a much more traditional fantasy story. As someone who is not super familiar with the books (although I have started them and the games), it could just seem like a response to audiences not liking the first season. However, from interviews with Cavill about season two, it sounds like something that really divided them.
Redanian Intelligence, a key source for all things The Witcher, reported that, in Summer 2021, there were rumors about Cavill being unhappy with the direction of the show. He did still renew his contract for $1 million per episode in season three. RI does note that at every turn, Cavill would remind audiences that he was pushing for a more book-accurate Geralt. They report him saying the following:
“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.
“The things that I pushed for, it was not necessarily just more dialogue. It was bringing a more book-accurate Geralt to the screen. […] All of my asks and requests were along the lines of just being faithful to the source material.”
Henry Cavill is a super nerd, and when he joined The Witcher, it was during a time when his career wasn’t looking quite as promising. While his arm reloading in Mission Impossible made him even more of a sex symbol, his tenure in the DCEU wasn’t as fulfilling as any Superman fan would have liked. The Witcher did allow him to gain a lot more popularity since he was playing a character who was hot, taciturn, loving, and empathic, all while swinging a massive sword and delivering bath scenes.
It was a great move for him, and he was a huge fan of the books. While the DCEU is a mess, it seems like Cavill is excited to play a newer, softer, curly-haired Superman, and why wouldn’t he be? It’s the one of the most important superhero characters of all time. The fact that he is choosing to leave speaks more to the division, because if I were on The Witcher team, I’d find a way to make both work. Still, as a book fan, if I can empathize with anything, it is seeing a project you love come to life and not keeping to the spirit of the source material. Still, it is all speculation, and we can still toss a coin to Cavill’s Witcher when season three arrives.
(via Redanian Intelligence, featured image: Netflix)
