There was quite a bit of uproar when it was announced that Liam Hemsworth (The Hunger Games) would be replacing Henry Cavill (Man of Steel) as Geralt of Rivia in Netflix's adaptation of The Witcher from season 4 on, but one of the show's EPs believes that another actor stepping into the role was inevitable.
During an interview with Polish outlet Wyborcza (conducted prior to the SAG-AFTRA strike), executive producer Tomek Bagiński was asked how he felt about Cavill stepping away from the fantasy adventure series after the most recent third season.
Bagiński declined to comment on the reasons for Cavill's departure, but he did attempt to justify bringing a different actor on to take over as the titular monster hunter.
"Henry was a fantastic Geralt, but in the history of pop culture we have many actors who played the same character, and the character itself changed," he responded. "I am most pleased that the series was created and became so popular. The Witcher has already reached the level of Batman, Superman and James Bond. Maybe we hoped to see him in a new version only in a few years, but it happened now. And that's nothing new for iconic pop culture heroes."
Geralt was introduced in the source novels by Andrzej Sapkowski, and thanks to a series of video games based on the books, he has indeed become a very popular and recognizable character. But to say he is now on the same level as the icons mentioned above is a bit of a stretch!
Even for loyal fans of the series that were prepared to give Hemsworth a chance, the way Cavill's departure was handled in season 3 was a huge let-down, so Netflix has its work cut out when it comes to building anticipation for The Hunger Games actor's debut in season 4.
All episodes of The Witcher season 3 are now available on Netflix.
"As monarchs, mages, and beasts of the Continent compete to capture her, Geralt takes Ciri into hiding, determined to protect his newly-reunited family against those who threaten to destroy it. Entrusted with Ciri’s magical training, Yennefer leads them to the protected fortress of Aretuza, where they hope to uncover more about the girl’s untapped powers; instead, they discover they’ve landed in a battlefield of political corruption, dark magic, and treachery. They must fight back, put everything on the line – or risk losing each other forever."
The Witcher also stars Joey Batey (Jaskier), Myanna Buring (Tissaia), Eamon Farren (Cahir), Mimî M Khayisa (Fringilla), Royce Pierreson (Istredd), Anna Shaffer (Triss Merigold), Mecia Simson (Francesca), Tom Canton (Filavandrel), Mahesh Jadu (Vilgefortz), Graham McTavish (Dijkstra), Cassie Clare (Philippa), Hugh Skinner (Radovid), Wilson Mbomio (Dara), Lars Mikkelsen (Stregobor), Terence Maynard (Artorius), Simon Callow (Codringher), Liz Carr (Fenn), Therica Wilson-Read (Sabrina), Safiyya Ingar (Keira), Rochelle Rose (Margarita), Michalina Olszanska) (Marti), Robbie Amell (Gallatin), Jeremy Crawford (Yarpen), Bart Edwards (Emhyr), Aisha Fabienne Ross (Lydia), Christelle Elwin (Mistle), and Meng’er Zhang (Milva).