The Witcher Showrunner Discusses Henry Cavill’s Departure

Fans of Netflix’s The Witcher TV series were surprised earlier this fall when the show was renewed for Season 4, but star Henry Cavill putting down the sword of Geralt of Rivia with Liam Hemsworth would be brought on and assume the role.

In the days that followed, The Witcher’s fanbase expressed their shock and dismay that Cavill was walking away from one of his dream roles. They even organized a Change.org petition that has over 275,000 signatures, calling on Netflix to try and persuade Cavill to stay. Cavill’s mind had been made up, however.

“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 in a statement at the time. “In my stead, the fantastic Mr. Liam Hemsworth will be taking up the mantle of the White Wolf.”

Executive producer and showrunner Lauren Hissrich hopes the change will bring a new energy to the Netflix series. “It’s a big deal for us, too,” told TechRadar about the fan reaction. “And that’s the thing…there’s a lot of talk and rumors about and we fully understand why fans are going there.”

Hissrich added by saying fans should still check out the upcoming Season 3, out sometime in 2023, so they can continue Geralt’s story as they won’t be disappointed. “I will say, please come back for The Witcher Season 3 so that we can continue to do this.”

Netflix audiences have had no problem tossing their coins to The Witcher. Season 2 of the dark fantasy series joined the list of the streaming services’ most-viewed TV shows, amassing 462.5 million hours of view-time and one of the biggest hits of the year.