For three seasons of “The Witcher,” we saw self-professed superfan Henry Cavill portray Geralt of Rivia, and viewers loved it. The British star, who initially lobbied for the part, clearly cared about the character and the show to the extent that his colored contacts for “The Witcher” almost blinded him due to his commitment. But Cavill departed after the third season, leaving fans bereft and the future of the show in question. One of the erstwhile star’s fellow actors, however, never once questioned the longevity of the series. Why? Because it turns out everyone else who makes that show loves it as much as Cavill did.
Speaking to The Guardian, Anya Chalotra, who plays sorceress Yennefer on the Netflix series, was asked about whether she ever thought Cavill’s exit marked the end of the show’s run. “No, actually,” she said. “I think I always knew we’d all continue. With the love for the material, we knew that it was going to go again. I was excited to see where Yennefer went, that’s for sure.”
At the time of Cavill’s departure, however, there was very much a question mark over the show, which is set to wrap up with its fifth season, likely sometime in 2026. Until then, Cavill’s replacement, Liam Hemsworth, will be portraying Geralt. The actor debuted as the character in season 4 of “The Witcher,” which unfortunately hit a viewership low for the series. Still, at least he was welcomed by the cast and crew. According to Chalotra, Hemsworth fit right in. “We didn’t want to be too intense,” she said. “We just wanted to make space for Liam. He understands people. He understands this world. He was able to come in so naturally. It was really easy.”
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The Witcher team were always going to keep going without Henry Cavill
Anya Chalotra’s Yennefer stands against a blurred background in The Witcher – Susie Allnutt/Netflix
Henry Cavill announced he was leaving “The Witcher” back in 2022, which was surprising for multiple reasons. For one, he’d already made clear his love for Andrzej Sapkowski’s stories on which the show is based and the popular video game series that followed. But the announcement also came around the time he and Dwayne Johnson engaged in some bizarre efforts to remain in the now-defunct DC Extended Universe, with the pair announcing Cavill’s return as Superman despite no such deal having been struck with Warner Bros. (needless to say, DC Studios co-head James Gunn was as confused as everyone else). Otherwise, “The Witcher” seemed to be a solid gig for Cavill, whose movie career wasn’t quite where it had been during his Superman tenure.
Now, we have a much better idea of why Cavill left “The Witcher,” and it had a lot to do with other projects. Showrunner Lauren Hissrich told Entertainment Weekly that the star had “plans for other roles” and that she and the producers didn’t want to hold him back. But she also echoed Anya Chalotra’s comments about the series’ future when she added, “We never really had serious conversations about the show not continuing. The show is bigger than one actor. It’s bigger than me.”
As surprising as Cavill’s exit was, then, it seems there was never any question about continuing the show at the time. Now, however, “The Witcher” actually has wrapped production after having shot its final two seasons back to back. While the fourth season hasn’t debuted to the same viewership as previous seasons, the cast and crew did at least get to finish things properly and, as such, followed through on their commitment to continue the series sans Cavill.
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Read the original article on SlashFilm.
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