Liam Hemsworth is taking over the role of Geralt of Rivia from Henry Cavill for The Witcher season 4. However, the recast timing couldn’t be worse.
Netflix is about to roll out its final season of The Witcher starring Henry Cavill (Man of Steel) as the titular witcher, Geralt of Rivia, with Liam Hemsworth taking on the part for season 4 and beyond; however, the recast itself has a significant timing problem. It was announced back in October 2022 that Henry Cavill, despite being a Witcher franchise superfan and pursuing the role of Geralt, would be stepping down from the Netflix show and passing his role over to Liam Hemsworth. Since an official reason was never given, rumors flew about everything from creative differences to returning to James Gunn’s revitalized DCU as Superman.
Regardless of why Henry Cavill is leaving The Witcher, the fact stands that The Witcher season 3 will be the last season that Cavill plays Geralt, and Netflix may have made a mistake with the timing of Geralt’s recast. For the most part, Netflix has been following Andrzej Sapkowski’s book series chronologically, while making a few changes to the narrative and adding a couple of characters along the way. While The Witcher season 1 adapted Sapkowski’s first two books, which are technically collections of short stories that precede The Witcher saga, The Witcher season 2 was based on Blood of Elves. The upcoming season is based on Time of Contempt.
The Witcher Season 3 Would’ve Been A Better Actor Change Point
Since The Witcher season 3’s story is based on the book Time of Contempt, it would’ve been a much better time for The Witcher to change its lead actor, as Sapkowski’s book is much more Ciri-centric. Netflix had the opportunity with The Witcher season 3 to zero in on Ciri’s role in the overall story, since Time of Contempt will see Yennefer attempting to teach Ciri to control her magic, and it goes horribly wrong. Ciri becomes separated from her guardians once again, and the political state of Thanedd Island also plays a big role in the story.
While Geralt is still obviously a main character in The Witcher, the changeover from Cavill to Hemsworth would’ve been better in season 3 since Geralt doesn’t have quite as central of a role. This would’ve given Hemsworth the opportunity to relax and become ingratiated in the world, as well as giving audiences the chance to warm up to the new Geralt without seeing the character go through sweeping changes. Of course, seeing Hemsworth join The Witcher season 3 would’ve caused some controversy, as few were happy to see Cavill depart. However, the timing of Hemsworth’s takeover isn’t ideal and perhaps the controversy of taking over early would’ve been worth it.
Why The Witcher Season 4 Story Makes Changing Geralt Even Harder
Since The Witcher is following Sapkowski’s books in order, then it stands to reason that The Witcher season 4, which marks the actor changeover, will adapt Baptism of Fire. This places a lot of weight on Hemsworth’s shoulders, as Baptism of Fire is nearly all Geralt-centric, chronicling the aftermath of the Thanedd incident and his journey to find Ciri with a new party. In addition, the White Wolf’s title “of Rivia” becomes official when he’s knighted by Queen Meve after the Battle for the Bridge on the Yaruga. All in all, Baptism of Fire sees a lot of character development and action for Geralt.
Starting Hemsworth off on a season where Geralt has a whole lot to do may prove to be the wrong choice, and only draw attention and comparisons to how Cavill and Hemsworth play the role differently. Had Hemsworth joined season 3, the pressure would’ve been off of the actor changeover because the narrative is more about Ciri. However, if The Witcher season 4 plans to adapt the next book then it seems Liam Hemsworth is jumping in feet first. While there’s little doubt that Hemsworth is talented enough to play Geralt, starting the new actor off at such a pivotal point for the character may not bode well for the audience.
