Twitter Has Gone Into Meltdown Over Henry Cavill Being Replaced In The Witcher

Attention to all White Wolf fans. The Witcher’s Henry Cavill has stunned viewers by announcing that he’s stepping away from the fantasy show after playing its hero Geralt of Rivia for three seasons. Adapted from a series of novels and short stories by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski, The Witcher follows a skilled monster slayer with magical powers. After the books gathered a cult following, a Polish-language TV show and a critically-acclaimed video game took Geralt’s beast-battling antics to a much wider audience. I

n 2019, Netflix released their own take on the story, with Henry Cavill widely praised in the lead role. Now, he’s set to be replaced by Australian actor Liam Hemsworth, best known for his starring turn in The Hunger Games franchise, from Season 4 onwards.

"As a Witcher fan, I'm over the moon about the opportunity to play Geralt of Rivia,” Hemsworth wrote on social media, before paying tribute to his predecessor. “Henry Cavill has been an incredible Geralt, and I'm honoured that he's handing me the reins and allowing me to take up the White Wolf's blades for the next chapter of his adventure.”

Cavill also wished Hemsworth well in his own post, announcing his departure to fans. “My journey as Geralt of Rivia has been filled with both monsters and adventures, and alas, I will be laying down my medallion and my swords for Season 4,” he wrote. “In my stead, the fantastic Mr. Liam Hemsworth will be taking up the mantle of the White Wolf. As with the greatest of literary characters, I pass the torch with reverence for the time spent embodying Geralt and enthusiasm to see Liam's take on this most fascinating and nuanced of men.” The announcement comes a week after Cavill revealed that he’s set to reprise his role in the DC Comics universe, and will be playing Superman again for the first time since 2017’s Justice League.

Admittedly, not all fans of The Witcher are happy about the recasting. Some are even speculating that Cavill, a self-confessed super-fan of the original books, may have walked because of tension and creative differences behind-the-scenes. Much of this speculation has been fuelled by the comments of Beau DeMayo, a former writer and producer of the show. During a Q&A session on Instagram live, he claimed that “some of the writers [on The Witcher] actively disliked the books and games (even actively mocking the source material). It's a recipe for disaster and bad morale.” Uh-oh!