‘The Witcher’ Season 4: Rumors of Writers Mocking Original Books Could Have Led to Henry Cavill’s Exit
The Witcher fans got upsetting news that changes the fate of the popular fantasy Netflix series. Henry Cavill, who played a perfect on-screen rendition of Geralt of Rivia, announced his departure on Oct. 29. The actor revealed he is leaving the series after the third season and will pass down the role to Liam Hemsworth. The actor’s departure has many fans upset and confused, and they wonder if behind-the-scenes disputes could have led Cavill to leave after The Witcher Season 3.
Henry Cavill hangs up his medallion after ‘The Witcher’ Season 4
Based on the books by Andrzej Sapkowski, Netflix’s The Witcher series had big shoes to fill. It had to find the perfect actor to portray the rugged and renowned Geralt. Cavill was cast in the role, and while many had worries, the actor proved to be made for the character. As a fan of the books and games, Cavill knew the ins and outs of the storyline and its characters.
But as the series heads into its third season, Cavill announced everyone’s worst nightmare. According to Variety, Cavill will exit his character role for The Witcher Season 4.
“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,” Cavill said on Instagram. “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.”
While Hemsworth shows enthusiasm and understands he has big shoes to fill, fans are not pleased. Cavill recently announced he would return to the DC universe in his acclaimed role as Superman. While many might believe it has led to Cavill leaving The Witcher, disputes with the writers and inability to stick to source material may be to blame.
Henry Cavill pushed to make Geralt more book accurate for ‘The Witcher’
Cavill leaving The Witcher has blindsided fans, as the actor actively proclaimed his love for the series and its showrunner. According to IGN, Cavill was on board with playing the character for its planned seven seasons, but on one condition.
“As long as we can keep telling great stories which honor [author Andrzej] Sapkowski’s work,” explained Cavill. So what went wrong? Before the big news, there were longtime hints that Cavill was fighting back against the series writers to stick to the source material. According to Digital Spy, for the second season, Cavill had to push to make a few changes to his character. “This season, I really wanted to make sure that we represented the book’s Geralt more accurately and that we saw him speak more,” said the actor. “I pushed really, really hard for that.”
The actor also pushed to give Geralt a more humane and emotional moment when Roach was fatally wounded and had to be put down. As a longtime fan of the books, Cavill knew how his character needed to be portrayed. Lauren Schmidt Hissrich would receive storyline notes from the actor, “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?”
There is no denying that Cavill is a certified nerd who gives it his all when playing a character. Having already been a fan and respecting Sapkowski’s work, the actor wanted to bring The Witcher story to life the way it needed to be.
‘The Witcher’ writers reportedly mocked the original source material
Taking an existing world and characters from written source material to the small-screen is not easy. But fans agree that a series needs to do its due diligence to honor the original work. But according to writer Beau DeMayo to Sci-Fi & Fantasy Gazette, the writing team mocked the books.
While discussing his previous works with an already developed fan base, DeMayo revealed, “I’ve been on [a] show – namely Witcher – where some of the writers were not or actively disliked the books and games (even actively mocking the source material.) It’s a recipe for disaster and bad morale. Fandom as a litmus test checks egos, and makes all the long nights worth it.”
In a Q&A on Twitter, Hissrich explained the work behind finding the right writers for The Witcher. While looking for writers who knew of the books and their characters, she explained she also wanted writers who would question the stories. “We need writers who are close, but not too close. Who love the world, but aren’t afraid to question it. Who are fans, but are willing to step back and open their minds, in order to bring their beloved world to our real (big) one. I hope we did that,” explained the showrunner.
But Cavill’s exit after The Witcher Season 3 has fans believing otherwise. There is much more than the actor or the showrunner wants to admit to. Fans will have to wait and see how Hemsworth will take on the character made infamous by Cavill.
