Last week, Netflix announced that Henry Cavill would not be returning in season 4 to play Geralt or Rivia in the Witcher. Fans of the show were not happy with this news and they believe they know why Cavill decided to call it quits.
Henry Cavill is a Big Reason Why The Witcher is Very Popular
Replacing Cavill is Liam Hemsworth who is best known as being Chris Hemsworth’s brother and was in the Hunger Games. He has big shoes to fill and many do not believe that he will be able to. Only time will tell but Cavill is one of the reasons why the Witcher was as big as it was.
Fans Believe Henrey Cavill Lef Because the Show Deviated from the Original Novels
Many fans are speculating Cavill’s departure and a few theories have been tossed around. The first one is that Cavill was not happy that the writers deviated away from author Andrzej Sapkowski’s original novels.
Season two of the Witcher was not based on the source material and they also ruined a fan favorite character. While we see the end result, Cavill gets to see behind the scenes and it definitely sounds even messier behind the scenes. Season three will air in Summer 2023 and that might have the limit for Cavill. He may not have liked the direction the show was going and decided to leave.
There have been rumors that Cavill chose to leave the Witcher because he reprised his role as Superman. Those rumors are just rumors as Cavill has said that he could have done both had he wanted to. In his farewell speech, Cavill does not mention a conflict of schedule as most people normally would if that were the reason.
Some Writers Actively Don’t Like Like the Source Material
Recently, news broke out that some of the writers of the Witcher “actively” dislike the source material and the video games. Looking back at the second season, that seems accurate as the source material was drastically altered. A new villain was introduced that had no relevance to the plot of the original source material.
Fans have been looking back at Cavill’s interviews about the Witcher and they dug up one with the Hollywood Reporter. In this interview, Cavill said that he was committed to the show’s seven season plan “as long as we can keep telling great stories which honor [author Andrzej] Sapkowski’s work.”
The writers didn’t know Sapkowski’s work as season two showcased and it sounds like season three did not help the cause. Cavill has apparently had enough and is moving on because this isn’t what he signed up for.
Do Not Change the Source Material
Ironically, George R.R. Martin recently said that writers should not drastically change the source materials. We are seeing firsthand what can go wrong when you mess with the source material. The Witcher is imploding right before our eyes and at this rate, we may not get a full seven seasons. That might be for the best if the actors care about the source material than the writers.
Well I bet alot of people won’t be watching the Witcher anymore, I know my son and I won’t, way to ruin a series
Yea, it started off so well too…
I watched the first two seasons and loved them both. Henry Cavill’s portrayal of the Witcher is real. Another actor will never capture his presence in the role. Get rid of the writers and find some that can stick with the original story.