Before The Last of Us and Arcane, The Witcher was bossing Netflix as a leading champion of good video game adaptations for the screen, aided heavily by the fact that the actual inspiration was from Andrzej Sapkowski’s same-name book series that the games are based on, so perhaps The Witcher isn’t as much of a maverick as some people think after all.
Nevertheless, as expected of a show that has the majority of narrative work already done for it, The Witcher was a high flier for Netflix, and a great deal of that success can be owed to Henry Cavill‘s captivating turn as protagonist Geralt of Rivia; the greatest neo-liberal monster hunter to ever grace the world of fiction.
But that’s one crutch that The Witcher will have to live without from now on, as it was confirmed back in late 2022 that Cavill would be stepping down from his Geralting duties, and while the Man of Steel star is all but confident that his replacement Liam Hemsworth will carry the hero’s sword as gracefully as he did, a Cavill-sized hole is still a Cavill-sized hole.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Anya Charlota, who co-stars alongside Cavill as sorcerer Yennefer of Vengerberg, reflected on the realization that season three of The Witcher will be Cavill’s last, highlighting the collective pride the cast felt for building what they’ve built with Cavill, while also acknowledging the difficulty that will come with bidding him farewell.
“‘All we knew were the feelings that we have when any season comes to an end. It’s full of pride and love and accomplishment for what we’ve done,’ Chalotra says. ‘So, we stayed in that moment rather than anything else. The news was… yeah, it’s hard to take because he’s a crucial part of the show and we all adore him. So, we’re gonna miss him a lot. I wish him all the best.’”
One would be forgiven in being a bit apprehensive going forward with The Witcher; after the complete misfire of a prequel that Blood Origin was, losing one of the most tried-and-true aspects of the mainline show is no easy truth to swallow. Either way, we’re sure it’s not nearly enough to deter The Witcher‘s dedicated audience from tuning in beyond season three, and we’ll continue to hope to hope itself that Cavill’s trust in Hemsworth isn’t misplaced.
The Witcher season three will release to Netflix on July 27.
