Why is Henry Cavill leaving The Witcher after season 3?

Liam Hemsworth will be taking on the role

It’s been a time of mixed emotions for The Witcher fans, because while season three is *finally* available to stream in full on Netflix (yep, part two is available now!), it’s also confirmed to be Henry Cavill’s last as Geralt. But why is he leaving the super successful fantasy franchise?

Spoiler alert: in case you didn’t know, Henry Cavill is leaving The Witcher after season three, with none other than Liam Hemsworth taking on the role.

Announcing the news on Instagram in October 2022, Henry explained: “Some news to share from The Continent… 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.

“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. Liam, good sir, this character has such a wonderful depth to him, enjoy diving in and seeing what you can find.”

So, why is Henry Cavill leaving The Witcher?

Some speculate it was due to creative differences

While the actor never actually confirmed his reasoning, many speculated that creative differences caused him to step away from the role. Cavill, who is a big fan of The Witcher books and video games, has hinted at his desire for Geralt’s character to be portrayed differently in the show over the years, so perhaps the showrunners decision to steer away from the original text didn’t help.

“It’s important for me to have the character be three-dimensional,” Cavill told Philstar in 2021. “And it’s tricky to do, as I was saying earlier, because there’s a certain vision and there’s a certain set storyline and plot. And so, it was about me trying to find Geralt’s place within that. All of my asks and requests were along the lines of just being faithful to the source material.

Susie Allnutt//Netflix

Showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich elaborated to The Hollywood Reporter, “A lot of the notes he was sending to me were about Geralt’s dialogue — could he, first of all, say more. Everybody came out of season 1 laughing and loving Geralt’s fuming. But Henry was saying that when you read the books you spend a lot of time in Geralt’s head. So how can we put that on the page?”

Others thought it was due to scheduling conflicts

Some fans speculated Cavill’s decision to quit was due to more Superman projects being in the works, claiming he was leaving the project to focus on DC. Previously, he worked on Man of Steel, Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League, before a cameo appearance in Black Adam. However the role of Clark Kent has been recast— David Corenswet will now play the famous superhero in the new Superman: Legacy.

Either way, we’ll be sad to see you go, Henry!

What has Liam Hemsworth said about joining The Witcher?

In October 2022, he took to Instagram to share the news that he would be taking over the role in a heartfelt post. “As a Witcher fan I’m over the moon about the opportunity to play Geralt of Rivia,” Liam wrote.

“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.

“Henry, I’ve been a fan of yours for years and was inspired by what you brought to this beloved character. I may have some big boots to fill, but I’m truly excited to be stepping into The Witcher world. @henrycavill @witchernetflix”

The Witcher season 3 is now streaming on Netflix