Witcher: Why isn’t Henry Cavill playing Geralt in Season 4?

In October 2022, news that no one expected shocked more than one fan of The Witcher series. in the publication his social networksHenry Cavill announces his decision to no longer play the wizard Geralt of Rivia after the show’s third season. At the time, the choice seemed motivated by his upcoming return as Superman in the DC Comics saga.

When Henry Cavill Loses Two of His Biggest Roles

But after a few months, a new twist changes the cards of the case. The appointment of James Gunn and Peter Safran at the helm of DC Studios kicks off the reboot of the superhero franchise. Then a new interpreter of Superman will be chosen – David Korensvet, who made his debut in this role last July, in James Gunn’s own film.

So this aborted comeback cost Henry Cavill two roles: Superman, of course, but also Geralt in the Netflix series. Because his replacement, Liam Hemsworth, was soon found, and therefore it is no longer possible for Cavill to change his decision. Only a few months later, new elements found out the real reasons for his departure from Witcher.

The real reason for Henry Cavill’s departure

Henry Cavill’s departure is almost a taboo subject. When asked about the topic, other actors of the series do not give an explanation for this choice. But they all support their playing partner, whose professional attitude and involvement they praise. We know that Henry Cavill is a huge fan of The Witcher – both the novels and the video games.

However, his relationship with the program’s showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hisrich is more complicated. Reading the lines, it’s hard not to feel a deep awkwardness between Geralt’s former translator and the American screenwriter. Cavill wanted to stay as close to the novels as possible, and he also had a habit of keeping a copy of the book to check that even the slightest line of dialogue followed the series.

Lauren Schmidt Hisrich, on the other hand, chose a version inspired by the novels, but which does not hesitate to deviate from them when it seems necessary. Very quickly, artistic disagreements and tensions arose between them. It seems that the situation took an irreparable turn during the filming of season 3, and this would be the main reason for Henry Cavill’s departure.

Tensions still in the air before filming season one?

in the given interview Vulture In 2019 (while promoting Season 1), Lauren Schmidt Hisrich’s comments suggested that this tension had existed since the series began filming. The screenwriter reveals that Henry Cavill went out of his way to meet him during the writing of the first season, even before he was officially cast as Geralt.

“It really hurt” entrusts Lauren Schmidt Hisrich to our colleagues. The article also says that the latter did not want to offer the role of the wizard to Henry Cavill on the set, and more than 200 actors were auditioned before it was clear: the actor was definitely the best choice for him for the role of Geralt.

A rare fact in Hollywood: after the departure of Henry Cavill, neither the English actor nor Lauren Schmidt Hisrich has stirred up controversy. Although they struggled to avoid the subject in each interview, both had no other attitude than to distance themselves from the matter.

Henry Cavill is already turning to other projects

Fortunately, Henry Cavill did not lose everything in this case. In addition to filming Highlander (postponed while he recovers from a shooting injury), the English actor is hard at work on a project close to his heart: an adaptation of the Warhammer 40K model franchise.

The project for the Prime Video platform has not yet been filmed. But this time, Henry Cavill has nothing to fear: considered the show’s next lead actor, he will also be a producer, guaranteeing him a say in writing episodes and creative control that he didn’t have during The Witcher.

The fourth season of The Witcher – without Henry Cavill, but with Liam Hemsworth – can be seen from October 30 exclusively on Netflix.

Discover the list of series currently available on the platform!