The Witcher season 3 provides a "heroic sendoff" for Henry Cavill's Geralt, promises showrunner Lauren Hissrich. For two seasons of Netflix's fantasy series, the British actor's portrayal of Geralt of Rivia, a magically enhanced monster hunter and the titular witcher, has garnered widespread acclaim from critics and audiences. In late October, Cavill announced that he would be leaving The Witcher after season 3 and replaced by Liam Hemsworth for season 4.
During a recent interview with EW, Hissrich promised "the most heroic sendoff" for Cavill's Geralt in The Witcher season 3, which adapts the fourth book in Andrzej Sapkowski's series, Time of Contempt. The Witcher showrunner discussed how much Cavill has meant to the show and how season 3 will honor him with a heroic sendoff, even though it wasn't written with that intent. Read what Hissrich said below:
Henry has given so much to the show and so we want to honor that appropriately. What is so interesting is that season 3, to me, is the closest thing that we've done as a one-to-one adaptation of the books. Obviously, we can't do every page, but Time of Contempt gave us so many big action events, plot points, defining character moments, huge reveals of a big bad. There's so much to do that we were able to stick really, really closely with the books. Geralt's big turn is about giving up neutrality and doing anything that he has to do to get to Ciri. And to me, it's the most heroic sendoff that we could have, even though it wasn't written to be that. Geralt has a new mission in mind when we come back to him in season 4. He's a slightly different Geralt than we expected. Now, by the way, that's an understatement.
How The Witcher Season 3 Can Give Cavill's Geralt A Heroic Sendoff
Since he was cast, Cavill has been widely considered the perfect actor to play Geralt due to his physical stature and love of The Witcher video games. Over two seasons of Netflix's adaptation, Cavill's performance has only become more beloved due to his impassive disposition and commitment to practical stuntwork, even suffering an injury while filming season 2. Cavill is one of the main reasons Netflix's fantasy adaptation has been such a massive hit, and for that, The Witcher indeed owes its lead star a proper sendoff.
The Netflix show is in a challenging position given that The Witcher season 3 was written and wrapped filming before Cavill announced his departure. However, by coincidence, The Witcher season 3 will still provide a heroic sendoff for Cavill's Geralt, according to Hissrich. The Witcher showrunner says this will be accomplished through Geralt "giving up his neutrality" and "doing anything" to get Ciri back home. In the books, Yennefer's attempts to train Ciri in magic go wrong, and the Princess of Cintra is separated from her guardians.
By providing a heroic sendoff for Cavill's Geralt, The Witcher season 3 ending will also provide the proper setup for Hemsworth to take over the lead role. By the time The Witcher season 4 begins, Geralt will be a renewed character with a "new mission in mind," according to the showrunner, allowing the Australian actor to put his stamp on the monster hunter. Only time will tell how the Netflix fantasy show handles its transition from Cavill to Hemsworth, as The Witcher season 3 releases sometime in mid-2023.
Source: EW