Many viewers were heartbroken when they learned that Henry Cavill had given up his role as Geralt of Rivia in The Witcher. They thought he was perfect for the role of the monster-slaying swordsman.
Liam Hemsworth, who starred in Hunger Games, will take over the character after season 3, which comes out this year. The executive producers of the Netflix show said that the actor was ‘excited’ and that his arrival would make sense to the fans who have read the books that inspired the series.
Before the latest episodes are released, which will be Henry’s last time playing Geralt, we talked to Steve Gaub and Tomasz ‘Tomek’ Baginski, who are in charge of producing the show.
Tomek, who came back to work on the TV adaptation after being part of season one and the spin-off Blood Origin, emphasized that Henry, 40, did a great job as Geralt and will be missed, but that introducing Liam, 33, at this point was ‘very accurate’ to the story of The Witcher.
He explained: ‘I think it’s important to say that Henry’s work was very, very important for the show and he was amazing Geralt and I think we will all miss him but the show goes on and actually the idea to introduce Liam – I don’t want to go into too much detail, I don’t want to spoil anything – but it’s very, very accurate with The Witcher’s story. People who know all the books and know book five and the idea that there are many versions of the same story… I think that they might like it a lot.
So I will miss Henry but at the same time I’m very, very excited for Liam and for the future because I think he’ll just bring a different kind of energy and it will still be Geralt but with a different flavour.’
Since season three is going to be Henry’s farewell to The Witcher, fans will surely feel emotional when they say goodbye to him, even though they are also curious about what Liam will do when he steps into Geralt’s shoes.
Steve, who has been working on The Witcher since it started, expressed how ‘personally pleased’ he was by how well this season showed Geralt’s character growth, as well as Henry’s performance as an actor.
He said: ‘He expanded his character, he opened up more. He became not just a Witcher but he became a father and he became somewhat of a husband. He became a deeper friend of Jaskier’s.’
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‘Henry had so many great things to explore and give us a more complete Geralt, and then we got the news and we had to deal with it like many other franchises in the past have, that have had more than one Doctor Who and more than one James Bond and more than one Spider-Man.’
Steve also said that because of the ‘strength of the franchise’, which has ‘well-written characters’ and a ‘fascinating world’, the creators are ‘hoping that the audience will keep going on that journey with us’.
‘It’ll be a new face in Liam Hemsworth. He’s very excited about the challenge. We think that with the characters and the world being the main focus we’re confident that the fans will join us,’ he said.
When Liam announced that he had been chosen as Geralt, he sent a direct message to Henry, thanking him for his impact in the role.
‘Henry Cavill has been an incredible Geralt, and I’m honoured that he’s passing me the reins and letting me take up the White Wolf’s blades for the next chapter of his adventure,’ he wrote then.
‘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.’
Meanwhile, Henry said of his successor: ‘Liam, good sir, this character has such a wonderful depth to him, enjoy diving in and seeing what you can find.’
The Witcher season 3 volume 1 launches on Thursday June 29 on Netflix.
