Henry Cavill has handed over his sword to Liam Hemsworth — but it wasn’t an easy decision.
After three seasons as Geralt of Rivia, Cavill stepped away from The Witcher, and Hemsworth has officially taken over the role. With the new season streaming on Netflix starting October 30, fans are revisiting the question of why Cavill left in the first place.
According to showrunner Lauren Hissrich, the reason was simple: Cavill wanted to pursue other projects. “He had plans for other roles that he really wanted to commit himself to,” she told Entertainment Weekly. “And for us, you don’t want to hold someone and force them to be doing something that they don’t want to do. I think that’s why it felt like a really symbiotic decision.”
Fans had wondered whether Cavill’s exit could jeopardize the series, but Hissrich reassured them that the show was always going forward. “We never really had serious conversations about the show not continuing,” she said. “The show is bigger than one actor. It’s bigger than me. There’s a book series, there’s a video game. We are the third entry into this. So The Witcher lives whether or not we go.”
For Hemsworth, stepping into such a beloved role came with challenges. “There was quite a bit of noise and I had to put that aside. It started to become a distraction,” the actor shared in his EW interview. “I dealt with that sort of thing in the past a lot and, you know, at the end of the day, I love making movies and I love telling stories and acting. I just don’t want any of that to affect my way of telling the story that I’m trying to tell. I jumped off social media and the internet most of last year.”
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Cavill helped smooth the transition by offering his support. “In my stead, the fantastic Mr. Liam Hemsworth will be taking up the mantle of the White Wolf,” Cavill wrote back in 2022. “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.”
Co-stars also felt the impact of Cavill’s departure. Anya Chalotra, who plays Yennefer, admitted she “cried” upon hearing the news. “I remember it so vividly. It really impacted me,” she said. “We were so bonded to these people, and to lose such an important member of the team … I’ve put everything into this character. I started [Witcher] having not much work under my belt, and this show means the world to me. So it hurt.”
The Witcher Season 3, which was released on Netflix in two parts in June and July 2023, was Cavill’s final outing as Geralt. Hemsworth officially debuts when Season 3 streams October 30, ushering in a new chapter for the series and the White Wolf.
