A lot of Netflix subscribers were dealt a big blow over the weekend, when Henry Cavill announced that The Witcher Season 3 would be his last go-round as Geralt of Rivia. The star had spoken several times over the years about how much he loved the story of Andrzej Sapkowski’s books and how geeked he was to help bring the character to life, so fans were reasonably surprised when we found out he wasn’t sticking with the beloved property, despite his revived work as Superman for Warner Bros. Several fans now think him leaving the show has nothing to do with his big screen superhero return, and they might actually have a point.
What Are The Witcher Fans Saying About Henry Cavill Leaving The Series?
Lore for this popular fantasy spans a number of short stories, books, and video games, which have been published over the course of nearly 40 years, so those who love the tale were definitely looking forward to the streaming show. This included Cavill, who campaigned hard for the lead role and impressed those behind the scenes with how dedicated he was to bringing Geralt to life. And, fans on Twitter are really not pleased that he’s left the series, and think they know why it happened:
This is the man saying in interviews that he'd take less money when trying out for the role Who slept in the costume, who gushed about the game in interviews He didn't quit for a lack of money or scheduling conflicts - it's the dislike for the source material.
Ooooh! Now, lest you think that this is the opinion of one or two, or even a handful of people, you’d be wrong. After the announcement was made that the video game-loving actor was done with Geralt and had already been replaced by The Hunger Games star Liam Hemsworth, many, many viewers came out to voice their opinion that the move was because of how much the series had diverged from the original stories, noting that the writers/producers “chased that man away from the series” with how they’d changed aspects of the lore.
Why Might The Witcher’s Fans Have A Point About Why Henry Cavill Left?
The star had, in fact, talked openly about some of the changes he wanted made in the show, especially with regard to how his sword-fighting monster hunter was portrayed. Showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich revealed that he’d fought for Geralt to do more actual talking in Season 2, as opposed to just “fuming” and grunting all the time. Well, it wasn’t too long ago that a former producer on the show, Beau DeMayo, answered some questions about his next series during an Instagram Stories (via The Direct), where he referenced his time on The Witcher, and said:
I've been on [a] show - namely Witcher - where some of the writers were not [fans of] 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. You have to respect the work before you're allowed to add to its legacy.
Uh, oh. Obviously, no one from the extremely popular series has commented on what DeMayo had to say, just as Cavill and Netflix haven’t opened up about the reasoning behind the star’s departure. But, with this view of how the writers looked at the source material now on record from someone who worked with them, it does make a pretty good case for him leaving The Witcher because of the direction of the show, as opposed to anything dealing with his return as Superman.
