The Witcher season 4 will recast Geralt of Rivia with Liam Hemsworth following Henry Cavill’s exit from the Netflix show, meaning that The Witcher season 3 must give Cavill’s Geralt some sort of closure. While the news that Henry Cavill would not return for The Witcher season 4 broke a month and a half after filming for The Witcher season 3 wrapped, it can be assumed that the decision had already been made before that. Netflix’s The Witcher had already signed Liam Hemsworth for the role, suggesting that season 3 may have been developed with Cavill’s future departure in mind.
The news that Henry Cavill would not return after The Witcher season 3 came right after the DCU’s Superman returned in Black Adam, leading to speculation that Cavill’s schedule had caused him to pick Superman over Geralt. However, it is important to say that neither Henry Cavill nor Netflix has mentioned a specific reason for the actor’s absence. However, the actor still needs a suitable sendoff for his time in the role, despite the fact the role has been recast for Geralt's Netflix future.
The Witcher Season 3 Can Give Cavill’s Geralt Closure
With Henry Cavill choosing not to return for The Witcher season 4, The Witcher season 3 will surely feel like an ending – even with the show recasting Geralt of Rivia. Obviously, Geralt as a character and all of The Witcher’s storylines will continue past season 3, but it will be a significant change for a show that had been defined by Henry Cavill’s Geralt. The Witcher season 4 will naturally feel like a new beginning for Netflix’s The Witcher adaptation, which is why season 3 can and should give Henry Cavill’s Geralt some sort of closure despite the character being recast.
Offering closure for a character that will return in the next season is challenging, but it can be done. The Witcher season 3 can bid farewell to Geralt in a meta-way, with an ending that feels like a goodbye to Geralt, but that also shows that the silver-haired Witcher will return. The Witcher season 3 is expected to adapt Time of Contempt, the second of five Witcher novels. As such, The Witcher season 3 cannot necessarily feel like an ending to the whole show, but it can play out as a closing chapter in Geralt’s life despite potential cliffhangers like Ciri joining the Rats.
Henry Cavill’s Geralt Was The Face Of Netflix’s The Witcher
Although the Witcher games had already succeeded in translating the Witcher novels into a mainstream pop culture hit, creating a successful TV series out of The Witcher would never be easy. Finding the balance between what works for the books and the games and what works for TV was Netflix’s The Witcher’s biggest challenge, and the show would only have a chance of succeeding if it nailed its Geralt of Rivia casting. Those who had read the Witcher books or played the Witcher games had fancast Geralt of Rivia for years, yet Henry Cavill as Geralt was a pleasant surprise.
A fan of The Witcher across all media, Henry Cavill brought a passion and unique energy to the role of Geralt of Rivia that elevated his portrayal of the White Wolf. Cavill did not try to emulate what Geralt’s voice actor in the Witcher games, Doug Cockle had done. Instead, the Superman actor found his own distinct take on Geralt of Rivia that translated how the Witcher novels described the character while also evoking elements from the game Geralt. Henry Cavill’s previous roles, especially as Superman in the DCEU, also contributed to making Netflix’s The Witcher a must-see even by those who didn’t know the franchise.
Netflix’s The Witcher Will Struggle Without Henry Cavill
The Witcher season 1 was a solid start for a show that was seen by many as Netflix’s Game of Thrones. The episodic adventures of Geralt, Yennefer, and Ciri across multiple timelines engaged audiences all over the world and made The Witcher season 1 both a good show and a solid adaption. That said, The Witcher season 1 was not perfect, and a lot of the show’s flaws became were repeated in season 2. The Witcher season 2 was not as well received as the first season, with many criticizing significant changes to the Witcher books, such as Yennefer losing her powers.
Netflix has big plans for The Witcher as a franchise, as proven by the two The Witcher spinoffs that have already been produced. The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf told Vesemir’s origin story, while The Witcher: Blood Origin will revisit the world later known as Continent before the Conjunction of the Spheres. Still, this ambitious Witcher universe can only work if future The Witcher seasons also work. Henry Cavill’s Geralt of Rivia was always pointed out as a highlight of The Witcher even by those who disliked the Netflix series, which is why The Witcher will struggle without Cavill, at least initially.