Henry Cavill has left Netflix’s The Witcher show but not necessarily the Enola Holmes franchise, opening up possibilities for his continued portrayal of Sherlock Holmes. While passing the role of The Witcher's Geralt of Rivia over to Liam Hemsworth, Cavill also announced his return as Superman in the DCU. Although his controversial decision to dump The Witcher seems to be in favor of his Man of Steel persona, his Enola Holmes 2 role does not appear to be another casualty of the DC return.
Henry Cavill’s exit from The Witcher is a massive blow to the show and suggests his decision to jump ship entails a fallout with Netflix. However, that doesn’t seem to be the case given his expanded Sherlock role in Enola Holmes 2. Even though Cavill has been openly criticizing The Witcher’s creative decisions, it’s not really indicative that he is done collaborating with Netflix, nor does it mean that his Sherlock Holmes iteration will require a recast, if or when Enola Holmes 3 is greenlit.
Why Henry Cavill Left The Witcher
Being a huge fan of Andrezj Sapkowski’s The Witcher novels and the video game The Witcher: Wild Hunt, Henry Cavill reportedly pushed the show's creative team for a book-accurate adaptation incessantly. This was not something he got with The Witcher season 2, however, and it frustrated him immensely. As he struggled with the show's creative decisions, particularly its deviation from the source material he loves, Cavill's departure from The Witcher has actually been a long time coming, if not even a tad late. In a nutshell, Cavill left The Witcher due to creative differences with the show's writers, not necessarily having a problem with Netflix.
The Enola Holmes Franchise Is Avoiding The Witcher's Mistakes
While Enola Holmes 2 is far from the book-accurate adaptation that Henry Cavill wanted for The Witcher, the movie sequel clearly did something right to elicit the return of the actor as Millie Bobby Brown’s onscreen brother. Quite passionate about his project choices, Cavill values “getting things right” when it comes to translating text to screen, evident in his desire to be involved in franchises honoring their original material, rather than butchering it for mere profit or general dislike of its source. Hence, despite Enola Holmes 2 diverging from Nancy Springer's books, the movie’s changes still make it a point to stay grounded with the soul of its origins.
With Cavill’s Sherlock Holmes role being enlarged, especially with the introduction of his nemesis, Moriarty, and sidekick, Dr. John Watson, Netflix perfectly sets up his return in Enola Holmes 3 should they decide to place the game afoot. Given that Cavill shares a more positive experience with the Enola Holmes franchise’s creative team, it’s more than likely that his Sherlock will be back. Maybe if The Witcher’s writers were more open to his notes, then he might have stayed on, saving Netflix from backlash. Unfortunately for the streamer, the writers drove away a hit show's lead actor because they thought they knew better.