School of the aware-wolf.
Earlier this year, we were all surprised to hear that Henry Cavill was stepping away from Netflix’s The Witcher adaptation. In his stead, The Hunger Games’ Liam Hemsworth would be taking over the role of Geralt of Rivia for the show’s fourth season.
Now, Netflix is doing what it can to reassure fans that, while this will clearly be a change for the series, it will also bring a “different energy” to the show that the producers are excited about.
Speaking at The Witcher: Blood Origin’s UK junket, showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich addressed the series’ recasting with a variety of outlets.
“You know, I will say that change is also energy,” Hissrich told Decider. “Change also brings about different energy. So, to us, that’s just part of continuing to roll forward into this franchise.”
Meanwhile, speaking with IGNHissrich said: “What I’m excited about is that we are allowing this franchise to continue growing, and that we get new energy and chemistry that we haven’t discovered yet.
“To me that’s part of the fun of television; you don’t know where exactly the adventure is going to end. So [this recasting is] something I’m really excited about.”
Hissrich also told Tech Radar she “fully understands” why fans of the series are upset about the news of Henry Cavill’s departure from the show. However, she hopes that everyone will stick with Netflix’s adaptation for the future season. “It’s a big deal for us, too,” she noted.
Elsewhere, Doug Cockle, the actor renowned for portraying Geralt of Rivia in The Witcher series of video games, spoke with our Bertie about Cavill’s decision to leave the show.
“Well I think it’s really sad,” Cockle stated. “And there’s a lot of people speculating on the reasons why he’s decided to leave, but whatever the reason is, I think it is sad, because Henry, he did a fabulous job as Geralt of Rivia.”
The Witcher spin-off Blood Origin, which explores the creation of the first prototype Witcher, launches on Netflix 25th December, with The Witcher Season three due out summer 2023.