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Our first look at Liam Hemsworth as Geralt of Rivia has been revealed since the news emerged that he would be replacing Henry Cavill in the role.
After three seasons in the role, Netflix announced in November 2022 that – whilst The Witcher would be continuing – it would be done without Henry Cavill in the lead role, with Liam Hemsworth taking over.
The move came amidst rumours of a divide between Cavill and the showrunners on The Witcher, with one calling him 'really annoying'.
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Cavill had said in 2021 that he would be committed to up to seven seasons of the show on one condition: “As long as we can keep telling great stories which honor Sapkowski's work."
The show, based on the work of Andrzej Sapkowski, was initially a huge hit for Netflix – with season one receiving universal acclaim.
Whilst seasons two and three released to less and less buzz – Cavill’s performance was still universally praised, as was his commitment to the books.
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He said on The Graham Norton Show he was ‘effusive’ in ensuring everything was as close to the source material as possible.
Showrunner Lauren Hissrich spoke to Total Film following the recast, saying that they were offered the chance to end the show after finding out Cavill would not be returning.
She said: “It was time for him in his life to move on. I think we’ve all been mourning this in our own way. We had the choice to have Geralt exit and to end the show. [But] that’s not something that we were willing to do.
“There’s just too many stories left to tell.”
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Regarding Liam Hemsworth replacing Cavill as the now iconic character, she went on to say: “We’re all excited about Liam coming in.
"He’s got enormous shoes to fill, but also has a lot of energy and a lot of excitement for it. It’s obviously a brand-new chapter for us.
"And there’s a lot of things involved. But at the end of the day we love what we’re doing and we’re gonna keep going.”
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The photos from the set of the upcoming fourth season show Hemsworth as Geralt for the first time and honestly?
They’re SO much better than many of us probably expected.
One fan posted on X (formerly known as Twitter) to say: "He actually looks pretty cool!
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“His face fits Geralt really well. Still feel really bad for him though. He's stepping into a tough situation after Henry's departure.
“Here's hoping he kills it!”
Another said: “He actually look good i didn't expect that.”
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Whilst we are still mourning the perfect casting of Henry Cavill, Hemsworth looks great – and if it means we get more stories told in the world of The Witcher, we’ll take what we can get.
Topics: The Witcher, Netflix, Henry Cavill, Film and TV
Michael Slavin