'The Witcher' Fans Have Doubts About Liam Hemsworth Living up to Henry Cavill

By Michael Hein - October 30, 2022 11:35 am EDT

Netflix announced some shocking news on Saturday that has fans of The Witcher devastated. The show's star Henry Cavill has decided to leave the production, meaning the titular main character will be recast. Starting in Season 4, Geralt of Rivia will be played by actor Liam Hemsworth instead.

The news that Geralt would be recast caught fans completely off guard, and many actually believed it was a joke at first. Cavill has been a huge fan of The Witcher franchise for years, and his personal love for the material has become a bit of a meme online in and of itself. Netflix and Cavill did not explain this parting of ways, leaving plenty of room for fans to speculate. Many shared their suspicions, including the possibility that Cavill's recent return to the DCEU is related.

Cavill will be replaced by Hemsworth, which most fans did not seem to take as a comfort. No matter who replaced him, fans likely would have been heartbroken. The Witcher has been plotted out for seven seasons, meaning that in the end, Cavill will have starred in less than half of it.

The Witcher Season 3 is slated to premiere in the summer of 2023 on Netflix. Season 4 is not yet in production. Here's a look at how fans are reacting to the news of Cavill's departure.

Joke

This has to be some kind of joke
— Yasmin 𓂃𓊝 (@uhnoobuhs) October 29, 2022

First and foremost, many fans assumed that this was all some kind of elaborate prank or promotional stunt.

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Nerd

That is actually a legitimate bummer to hear Henry Cavill is leaving The Witcher. His performance was stunning in that way that only a real fuckin' nerd about the books could be.
— Sam Sykes (@SamSykesSwears) October 30, 2022

I swear Henry Cavill is forever cursed to be extremely passionate about a character, but have to deal with people in charge who clearly don’t understand the source material as well as they ought to.

It’s only happened twice, but it’s concerning that it’s happened twice. https://t.co/EwZ5T1qRxj
— Ace Sedai — Cyberpunk 2077 Era (@ace_sedai) October 30, 2022

Fans were stunned that Cavill left this role after proving himself to be a huge fan of the source material. They felt that no actor would be able to match his dedication to the source material or be willing to admit their passion for it.

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Good For No One

Henry Cavill has done what no other could do.

Geralt united the Witcher fandom at last. pic.twitter.com/iReEpb5im1
— Kaer Moron 🐺⚔️☠️ (@IsaAfterDark) October 29, 2022

The Witcher fandom is undeniably divided, with many outspoken fans disliking the Netflix original series for one reason or another. However, commenters noticed that no one in any portion of the fandom seemed to be happy about this casting news.

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Superman

i do NOT care about henry cavill as superman what i DID care about was him as geralt pic.twitter.com/IUGW4HID2z
— aleks ☠︎ || spn 5x13 (@mysterysp0t) October 29, 2022

The Witcher fans watching Season 4 starring Liam Hemsworth instead of Henry Cavill: pic.twitter.com/0gYEzEvIev
— BLURAYANGEL 🦇 (@blurayangel) October 29, 2022

Cans complained bitterly that they didn't care about Superman and would gladly trade Cavill's work in the DCEU for his continued work on The Witcher. Of course, there's no confirmation that Cavill had to choose between the two roles or that the DCEU influenced his decision to leave The Witcher.

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Other Shows

I feel this is kinda like if Matt smith decided to leave hotd and hbo replaced him with Harry styles https://t.co/cUQeBglvsj
— nic ❤️‍🔥 (@targaryencunt) October 29, 2022

my gc reacting to the henry cavill recast vs the possibility of the same happening to matt pic.twitter.com/P0i4baSy93
— ali (@poppyshilI) October 29, 2022

Some fans reasoned that if this could happen to Cavill, it could happen to other stars of their favorite fantasy shows. They imagined with horror how they would react if, for example, Matt Smith was recast in House of the Dragon.

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Plan

Henry Cavill is ABSOLUTELY committed to The Witcher’s 7 season plan 😭💀 pic.twitter.com/CmIYN76Ida
— BLURAYANGEL 🦇 (@blurayangel) October 29, 2022

henry cavill has been fighting the show-runners for years and it looks like he finally gave up his fight 😢 pic.twitter.com/2E7nlAKtgK
— ariel 🪴 (@cursedhat) October 29, 2022

Fans mourned for the old reports that Cavill planned to star in seven seasons of The Witcher, all planned out to adapt Andrzej Sapkowski's books. Many suspect that his feelings on the writing contributed to his departure from the show.

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Reasons to Watch

NOT HENRY CAVILL LEAVING THE WITCHER FOR S4! IM REALLY ONLY WATCHING THE JASKIER SCENES AND THATS ALL pic.twitter.com/qyxR7eewOy
— taylor (taylor’s version) (@tayloralysweet) October 29, 2022

so let’s get back to the main characters of the show i guess pic.twitter.com/usOfPJdJfw
— yennefer’s defense attorney (@yencirilla) October 29, 2022

Fans who were heartbroken about Cavill's departure found a few silver linings to focus on instead. They still planned on watching for Jaskier, Yennefer, Ciri and other characters, noting that the women of The Witcher are the main characters, in many ways.

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