Contents
Summary
- The Witcher season 3 saw major events that will change the characters’ stories, but the biggest topic remains Henry Cavill’s exit and Liam Hemsworth’s recasting as Geralt.
- The producers’ defense of the recast by comparing it to Bond and Batman makes no sense since The Witcher is not being rebooted and Hemsworth’s Geralt is supposed to be the same as Cavill’s.
- Hemsworth deserves to be seen as the same Geralt and not a new version, but fans have already written him off without giving him a chance to prove himself. The series’ future could depend on the audience’s reaction.
Although a lot of things happened in The Witcher season 3, the biggest topic of discussion continues to be Henry Cavill’s exit and Liam Hemsworth taking his place as Geralt of Rivia, and the way the producers are defending the recast makes no sense, and it’s unfair to Hemsworth. The universe of Netflix’s The Witcher keeps expanding, now with a third season that serves as Cavill’s last, and which featured some major events from the book that will change the stories of Geralt, Yennefer of Vengerberg, and Ciri for the rest of the series.
The Witcher season 3 finally saw Geralt, Yennefer, and Ciri becoming a family, but the Thanedd Coup and more forced them to separate again. By the end of the season, Yennefer was leading the surviving sorceresses, Ciri joined the Rats after relinquishing her powers, and Geralt is now on a mission to find Ciri and kill Vilgefortz. However, The Witcher did nothing to set up its Geralt recast, and to make it even worse, one of the producers tried to defend the change by making a nonsensical comparison to James Bond, Batman, and Superman, which is also unfair to Liam Hemsworth.
Defending The Witcher’s Geralt Recasting With Bond & Batman Comparisons Makes No Sense
In an interview with Polish outlet Wyborcza (via CBR), The Witcher executive producer Tomek Bagiński spoke about Cavill’s departure and the decision to carry on with the series and recast the character. Bagiński compared Geralt to Batman, Superman, and James Bond, saying that The Witcher has already reached their level and that allows different versions of the famous witcher – only that, instead of waiting a couple of years to see a new Geralt, it’s already happening. While the Netflix series has surely boosted the popularity of The Witcher, comparing its Geralt recast to those of James Bond and Batman makes no sense.
In the specific cases of Superman, James Bond, and Batman, their recasts are due to reboots and entirely new versions of the characters, which isn’t the case of Geralt and Netflix’s The Witcher. The series isn’t being rebooted, and Hemsworth’s Geralt is supposed to be the exact same as Cavill’s, continuing his arc, relationships, and everything else. The only way Geralt’s recasting could be similar to what is done with Bond and Batman is if The Witcher did a multiverse storyline, with Hemsworth’s Geralt being an alternate version of the witcher, but this makes no sense as that’s not how the multiverse works in The Witcher, and it wouldn’t address Geralt’s current story.
Geralt’s Bond & Batman Comparisons Don’t Help Liam Hemsworth
Bagiński’s defense of Geralt’s recasting not only doesn’t make sense but it’s also unfair and disrespectful to Liam Hemsworth. The announcement of Cavill’s departure and Hemsworth’s casting received strong reactions on social media from fans of The Witcher, giving Hemsworth an even bigger challenge. Cavill’s portrayal of Geralt of Rivia was well-received by fans of the books and video games, and it was even better in season 3, so Hemsworth already has a tough challenge in replacing Cavill. Hemsworth will obviously put his own style to his interpretation of Geralt and there will be differences with Cavill’s version, but he deserves to be seen as the same Geralt as that’s exactly who he’s supposed to be, not a new, rebooted version.
Liam Hemsworth Could Be A Good Geralt – But Will The Witcher Survive?
Although Netflix’s The Witcher is one of the streaming giant’s most popular TV series, it hasn’t been safe from controversies. The Witcher season 1 was very well received, though its non-linear narrative was criticized, but season 2 was quite controversial due to the many changes it made to the source material, especially Yennefer’s story. The Witcher’s quality also decreased in season 2, and while in terms of narrative season 3 was better, the series’ overall quality didn’t improve much – however, season 3 gave the audience the best Geralt of Rivia so far.
All this, along with the reactions to Cavill’s departure and Hemsworth’s casting, have led to the latter being written off already, which is unfair as he hasn’t even shown what he will look like as Geralt, let alone how he will be playing the witcher. Hemsworth could actually be a good Geralt of Rivia, as he’s no stranger to action characters and fantasy worlds, and could bring a more dramatic layer than Cavill did. However, the big question is whether viewers will give him the chance to prove himself and grow into the role or not, and with The Witcher not being renewed beyond season 4 yet, the series’ future could depend on the audience’s reaction to Liam Hemsworth’s performance.