Fans of Netflix’s The Witcher were likely all very happy to learn over this past weekend that before Season 3 of the show was even ready to air, Season 4 had been given the green light. That enthusiasm may have been dampened, however, by the news that Henry Cavill will not return to the role of Geralt of Rivia for that fourth season. This fact surprised many fans, but it’s starting to sound like perhaps Cavill has been unhappy with the show for some time.
It’s a pretty well known fact that Henry Cavill is a bit of a nerd, and as such he was a fan of The Witcher before the show. He reportedly fought hard for the role of Geralt, but according to fan site Randian Intelligence, Cavill was already becoming disillusioned during Season 2 of the show. The rumor claims that Cavill wanted to see a version of Geralt that was faithful to the original novels, while the showrunners were taking things in a different direction, leading to conflict.
The site claims that it heard rumors of Cavill considering leaving after Season 2, but when the actor re-upped for Season 3, it assumed there was nothing to those rumors, or at the very least that issues had been resolved. It also points out comments that Cavill made in interviews as part of the Witcher Season 2 media campaign, where the actor talked about trying to bring the showrunners vision of the character and the book’s vision together in some way.
Many wondered if Cavill’s decision to leave The Witcher was in some way connected to the fact that Cavill has confirmed he will be returning as Superman for WB at some point down the line. While that possibility can’t be discounted, Cavill wouldn’t be the first actor to need to juggle multiple franchises at once. Most are able to do it without issue and all indications are that the next Superman project is in the earliest stages, so it’s too early to really worry about that.
“Creative differences” has become something of a catch all term when people leave films and television but if this rumor is to be believed, then that appears to be exactly what happened here. Cavill had a particular creative vision for how he saw the show going, and when it ended up not going that way, he became less enthusiastic about the role. Cavill clearly loves the original Witcher novels. For what it's worth, Witcher author Andrzej Sapkowski was also a fan of Cavill in the role.
In the end, creating a version of The Witcher that is less faithful to the source material isn’t a problem on its own. It can still lead to a show that is good in its own right. How fans react to Season 3 may end up being the big question. As long as viewers like The Witcher as it is, they’ll likely tune in for Season 4. Once that happens there will be a lot of pressure on Liam Hemsworth to keep the story going.
