{"id":112110,"date":"2025-10-30T11:41:09","date_gmt":"2025-10-30T11:41:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/112110\/"},"modified":"2025-10-30T11:41:09","modified_gmt":"2025-10-30T11:41:09","slug":"is-there-life-in-the-witcher-after-henry-cavills-exit-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/112110\/","title":{"rendered":"Is there life in The Witcher after Henry Cavill\u2019s exit? \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Across three blockbusting seasons of Netflix\u2019s<\/a> hit fantasy series The Witcher, antihero Geralt of Rivia has seen off killer monsters, duplicitous wizards and some of the deadliest special effects a reported $25 million per episode budget can buy. But now Geralt faces his greatest challenge yet: the exit of lead actor Henry Cavill<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Cavill stepped down as Geralt in October 2022, weeks after cameras had stopped rolling on The Witcher series three. While the reasons for his departure remain unclear, there\u2019s no standing on ceremony in the world of heroic fantasy. As series four arrives, he has been replaced by former Hunger Games star Liam Hemsworth \u2013 who has admitted he was wary of taking on the part of Geralt, so synonymous was the character with Cavill.<\/p>\n

The departing Cavill leaves big boots to fill, but Netflix<\/a> is confident that Hemsworth is up to the task. As showrunner Lauren Hissrich sees it, swapping out Cavill for Hemsworth is much like James Bond<\/a> producers exchanging one 007<\/a> for another. <\/p>\n

\u201cJames Bond is a perfect example of a character that continues to live on … in many different actors,\u201d she tells The Irish Times. \u201cPeople have favourite James Bonds, and it\u2019s not that you don\u2019t like the other ones.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Hissrich is no doubt aware, not all James Bonds were created equal. If Cavill was the fantasy equivalent of Sean Connery<\/a> \u2013 the brutally effective and darkly charming original, then what does that make Hemsworth, who was drafted in at the last minute? Could he be as big a flop as George Lazenby when he took over from Connery? Or will he put his own unique stamp on Geralt, as Roger Moore<\/a> did with Bond? <\/p>\n

To Hissrich, at least, the answer is obvious: the new Witcher is a keeper. Hemsworth threw himself into the action and came to the Witcher set in Wales ready to get under the skin of Geralt \u2013 a magical, monster-slaying warrior who sustains his super-human strength by quaffing a variety of performance-enhancing potions. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe had to embrace the change, and we had to be confident about the change,\u201d says Hissrich. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s great is that Liam was up to that challenge. He had a ton of opinions about his character, about what was important to him, about what he wanted to keep from the past. He was very keen on making sure Geralt stayed Geralt. That the character is bigger than an actor. But then he also had to bring his own touch to it, his own flair. He had a lot of thoughts about what that could be. I have to say he showed up. The first day that he filmed is actually the very first scene of the season. He owns it so beautifully. He came to set, he was Geralt. And because he was confident, we were confident.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Witcher is one of the big three classic fantasy franchises, alongside Tolkien\u2019s Lord of the Rings<\/a> and George RR Martin\u2019s<\/a> Song of Ice and Fire. But it\u2019s a lot grittier than Tolkien while giving fantasy fans more bang for their mythological buck than Martin by having Geralt fight a rotating cast of hideous monsters as he seeks to keep safe his ward, Ciri (Freya Allen), from various nefarious kingdoms and empires. <\/p>\n

Long before the TV show, The Witcher was globally popular. The original novels by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski have sold 50 million copies, while the Witcher video games are considered some of the best of the past 20 years. That level of fandom invites a lot of scrutiny \u2013 all the more with Cavill having left (amid unsubstantiated rumours that he and Hissrich did not see eye to eye regarding the trajectory of Geralt). <\/p>\n

The upside to such a profile, says Hissrich, is that \u201cthe character is bigger than the actor\u201d. Just as you can replace your big-screen James Bond or Batman, it is possible for more than one actor to don Geralt\u2019s distinctive silver top-knot and strap on his silver Witcher sword. <\/p>\n

[\u00a0You know the way TDs say \u2018Renault\u2019? That\u2019s kind of how to pronounce the Witcher\u2019s name tooOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

\u201cHe had to embrace how he would bring his own thing to it but how it would stay Geralt,\u201d says Hissrich. \u201cHe\u2019s obviously surrounded by other cast members who\u2019ve been playing their roles for several years, and had to have continuity in terms of how they interacted with him. One of the decisions we made very early is we did some flashbacks so that we could have Geralt and Yennefer [Geralt\u2019s romantic interest] and Ciri in the same place again. Obviously they\u2019re on very different journeys this season \u2013 we needed to show that family and show them back together. And it was such a great place to start, because it was like, \u2018Okay, we\u2019ve adapted to this. And this is Geralt\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cavill\u2019s departure shocked fans \u2013 and came as a surprise to the cast, too. They had no inkling that Cavill was thinking of moving on, Anya Chalotra, who plays the sorcerer Yennefer, said in 2023. \u201cWhen we are all on set, we\u2019re dedicated to playing these characters and bringing them to life in the best way. And that is precisely what I felt every day from Henry. That news was hard to take because he\u2019s family. We\u2019ve been together for five years. So for anyone to leave after working with someone for that long, we\u2019re going to feel that loss.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"HenryHenry Cavill in The Witcher: big boots to fill <\/p>\n

Two years later Joey Batey, who portrays Geralt\u2019s bardic sidekick, Jaskier, talks fondly of his time on set with Cavill and mourns his departure. \u201cIt was sad [but] for me, my friendship with Henry … he\u2019s not dead. He\u2019s [been] incredibly supportive throughout shooting season four. I remember turning up on my first day, I\u2019d finished a very long shoot and came back to my house, and there was a package from Henry in support. Three bottles of wine, some stress balls. If you know Henry, he\u2019s got a very dry sense of humour. He checks in all the time, and has been very supportive of the show throughout. I don\u2019t have to miss him, because we\u2019re constantly on the phone with each other. Going for the odd glass of wine when we can.\u201d<\/p>\n

With Hemsworth on board, it was decided to shoot series four and five back to back \u2013 a huge logistical undertaking that required the actors to throw themselves into the elements, says Batey. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve essentially shot eight films in 16 months and done our very best to get through it. But there are tons of injuries, through no fault of anybody\u2019s. I\u2019ve had contusions, I\u2019ve fractured my back. I\u2019ve broken a rib. The weight of this show frequently has an effect on your body and, as a result, on your mental health as well. Without the collaborative nature, without the friendships that we\u2019ve built, I don\u2019t think any of us would have survived. Liam is going through many more injuries than I did. The very fact that he\u2019s able to continue with this character so viscerally, it\u2019s a testament to his fortitude.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"LaurenceLaurence Fishburne as Regis. Photograph: Susie Allnutt\/Netflix <\/p>\n

If Cavill has left, the most significant addition to the cast is Laurence Fishburne<\/a>, aka Morpheus from The Matrix and the Bowery King from John Wick, who plays a mysterious new ally of Geralt on his hunt for Ciri (who, unbeknown to Geralt, has joined a band of brigands). Regis is mysterious, a bit plummy, and obviously knows more than he is letting on \u2013 yet despite these clear echoes of his Matrix character, Fishburne does not regard him as Morpheus part two. \u201cThe only parallel I see between Regis and Morpheus and the Bowery King is the actor that played them. That\u2019s it. As characters, they\u2019re completely different guys.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fishburne is best known for bringing his magnetism and deep, rumbling voice to properties such as The Matrix and the TV show Hannibal, about the Thomas Harris serial killer Hannibal Lecter. However, he has always loved fantasy and was thrilled to explore that interest with The Witcher. <\/p>\n

\u201cI have been [a fan of fantasy] for a long time, and it\u2019s not a genre that I\u2019ve played in before. There\u2019s a certain fantasy element to A Nightmare on Elm Street 3, which I did, for example \u2013 the Dream Warriors. But my character [in Elm Street] doesn\u2019t engage with any of that. So for me, this was a great opportunity to actually finally do something like this,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the reasons I wanted to do it is because you don\u2019t often see people of colour in these kinds of environment, these kind of spaces. The women in The Witcher are super-empowered. The show is incredibly female forward, which I also like. It\u2019s nice when you can be involved in a piece like that. And then the production values, the locations they choose, the way they choose to shoot the show, the visuals \u2013 are pretty stunning. So all of those things were exciting and attractive to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

The question on the minds of Netflix executives is whether The Witcher will continue to appeal to viewers now that Henry Cavill is gone and Hemsworth has taken over \u2013 though not for long, given that series five has been confirmed as the end. Hissrich hopes fans warm to him. But she is long since past the point of feeling nervous about how he is received. <\/p>\n

\u201cPart of it is because it\u2019s done. We\u2019ve made it. We\u2019re so proud. We\u2019ve been with Liam for the past 2\u00bd years. This is not new to us. The idea that the world is finally going to catch up with us and get on the train is super exciting. Season five is in progress already, so we know what we\u2019re writing to. We know what the end is. I\u2019m excited more than I am nervous.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Witcher season four begins on Thursday, October 30th<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Across three blockbusting seasons of Netflix\u2019s hit fantasy series The Witcher, antihero Geralt of Rivia has seen off…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":112111,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[93,61,60,30777,13987],"class_list":{"0":"post-112110","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-ie","10":"tag-ireland","11":"tag-liam-hemsworth","12":"tag-the-witcher"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112110","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=112110"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112110\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/112111"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=112110"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=112110"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=112110"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}