Henry Cavill will be leaving the Netflix series “The Witcher” but the show will continue for season 4 with Liam Hemsworth stepping into the lead role…
“The Witcher” has officially been renewed for season 4 on Netflix but the fantasy series has lost leading man Henry Cavill.
Cavill, who spent three seasons playing monster hunter Geralt of Rivia, announced that he would be leaving the series but the show would go on with Liam Hemsworth stepping in to replace him with the upcoming fourth season. “The Witcher” season 3 hasn’t actually debuted yet but Cavill will appear in all of those episodes before his sword is handed off to Hemsworth for the fourth season.
“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 wrote on Instagram. “In my stead, the fantastic Mr Liam Hemsworth will be taking up the mantle of the White Wolf. As with the greatest of literary characters, I pass the torch with reverence for the time spent embodying Geralt and enthusiasm to see Liam’s take on this most fascinating and nuanced of men.
“Liam, good sir, this character has such a wonderful depth to him, enjoy diving in and seeing what you can find.”
Based on Andrzej Sapkowski’s best-selling book series, “The Witcher” follows Geralt as he travels the Continent fighting anything and everything that goes bump in the night, from ghouls to bruxas and more. Along the way, he forms an unlikely family with the powerful sorceress Yennefer (Anya Chalotra) and Cintran princess Ciri (Freya Allan) as they evade the mages, monarchs and monsters who seek to capture Ciri.
Hemsworth, who most famously appeared in “The Hunger Games” movies, detailed his excitement to take over the role of Geralt of Rivia starting with season 4.
“As a Witcher fan I’m over the moon about the opportunity to play Geralt of Rivia,” Hemsworth said. “Henry Cavill has been an incredible Geralt, and I’m honored that he’s handing me the reins and allowing me to take up the White Wolf’s blades for the next chapter of his adventure.
“Henry, I’ve been a fan of yours for years and was inspired by what you brought to this beloved character. I may have some big boots to fill, but I’m truly excited to be stepping into The Witcher world.”
Of course, Cavill’s exit shouldn’t come as a huge surprise considering he just recently announced his plans to return to play Superman in the new DC Extended Universe after he appeared as the Man of Steel in a post credit scene in “Black Adam” opposite Dwayne Johnson.
DC has just been reinvigorated with new life after James Gunn was hired to lead the creative direction across films, television and animation and he’ll likely look to create a cohesive shared universe moving forward — and Cavill is expected to be a huge centerpiece to those future films.
Cavill has also signed on to star in an updated “Highlander” remake, which will also keep him plenty busy with film projects that likely prevented him from committing to the long shooting schedule required for “The Witcher” season 4.
As for Hemsworth, he won’t actually appear on screen as Geralt of Rivia for quite some time with “The Witcher” season 3 not expected to debut until sometime in summer 2023.
