The Real Reason Henry Cavill Left ‘The Witcher’
The Witcher became one of the most popular fantasy shows in Netflix history. Unfortunately, it will lose its lead star after the third season. Henry Cavill announced he was leaving the show and Liam Hemsworth would replace him.
Here is what happened between Henry Cavill and the producers of The Witcher that resulted in him leaving the popular Netflix show.
Henry Cavill wasn’t happy with The Witcher‘s second season
Henry Cavill let fans know on his Instagram account he was leaving The Witcher after the third season. The actor who played Geralt of Rivia said the show had many “monsters and adventures,” but he was leaving and would not return for Season 4. He then welcomed Liam Hemsworth (The Hunger Games) to the show as his replacement.
Fans were not happy about this, and many threatened to boycott the show on Netflix. Many speculated that Cavill leaving the show had to do with his new DCEU commitments since he is returning to his role as Superman. He had a cameo in the Black Adam post-credit scene and Man of Steel 2 is currently in development, looking for writers. However, there might be more to it than that.
According to Redanian Intelligence, Cavill almost left the show in the second season. The actor also had a lengthy absence between the second and third season’s filming. This is all quite surprising since Cavill’s love for The Witcher is what got the show rolling at Netflix in the first place. The rumors were that Cavill didn’t agree with the direction the producers were taking the series. This all reportedly comes from his love of the source material.
Some writers on The Witcher mocked the source material
A former writer from The Witcher, Beau DeMayo made some comments in an Instagram Q&A about the writer’s room on the Netflix series. According to the writer, “I’ve been on show – namely Witcher – where some of the writers were not or actively disliked the books and games (even actively mocking the source material.)” While he didn’t mention names, this also lines up with some of Henry Cavill’s problems on the show.
Henry Cavill has actively said how much he loves the games and books that The Witcher is based on. However, showrunner Lauren S. Hissrich said that she didn’t want writers who would adapt the source material and wanted ones who would question it and go beyond what came before. “We need writers who are close, but not too close. Who love the world, but aren’t afraid to question it.”
We need writers who are close, but not too close. Who love the world, but aren't afraid to question it. Who are fans, but are willing to step back and open their minds, in order to bring their beloved world to our real (big) one. I hope we did that.
— Lauren S. Hissrich (@LHissrich) June 8, 2020
She also said that Henry Cavill would send her lots of notes about Geralt’s dialogue and asked if his character could say more about The Witcher. That led to Cavill talking about his biggest problem with the Netflix series in an interview with Philstar. “The toughest part for me was finding that balance between the showrunners’ vision and my love for the books, and trying to bring that Geralt to the showrunners’ vision… All of my asks and requests were along the lines of just being faithful to the source material.”
With the writers often openly mocking the source material in the series, it was not a surprise when Henry Cavill chose to walk away.
Are you still going to watch The Witcher when Henry Cavill leaves the show? Will Liam Hemsworth be able to fill in the gap? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.
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