Netflix has rolled out the first trailer for The Witcher season 4, the first to replace Henry Cavill as Geralt with Liam Hemsworth after Cavill walked away in 2023 after season 3. However, the most interesting news isn’t the trailer; it’s what Netflix revealed about this whole process before deleting what they originally wrote.
A lengthy article on Netflix’s own site, Tudum, details how Hemsworth came on board. The surprising part is that Hemsworth got the call to play Geralt in The Witcher way earlier than anyone thought. From the original article:
“Hemsworth’s journey began with a phone call in 2020, while he was home in Australia. “My agent called me and said they were interested in me stepping into the world of Geralt, and continuing on with this series,” the actor recalls. At first, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to take on the role, but an early conversation with (showrunner Lauren) Hissrich helped ease his doubts. “I felt like I was going to have the support and the confidence that I needed to really pull it off,” Hemsworth says.
That would mean the call was made seemingly as season 2 was still filming in 2020, and two years before Henry Cavill announced he was leaving the show. Hissrich trying to “ease his doubts” about taking on the role clearly indicates the show was already trying to recast. But the craziest thing of all is that Netflix has now deleted the date from the article. Here’s what it looks like now:
“Hemsworth’s journey began with a phone call while he was home in Australia. “My agent called me and said they were interested in me stepping into the world of Geralt, and continuing on with this series,” the actor recalls.”
The date is gone. The rest of the article does not seem to be edited, where it includes very strong hints about what Cavill did not bring to the table as Geralt, and how he may have acted when he had the part:
“Hissrich says Hemsworth’s humility was the final piece, and the reason why his transition into Geralt looks effortless. “It would be very easy for someone to come in and say, ‘The show is The Witcher, Geralt is the leader and star of the show,’ and Liam could not be more opposite than that. It is his goal to fit into this family.”
In a recent interview with EW just two weeks ago, showrunner Lauren Hissrich gave a more cordial answer about Cavill leaving:
“He had plans for other roles that he really wanted to commit himself to…And for us, you don’t want to hold someone and force them to be doing something that they don’t want to do. I think that’s why it felt like a really symbiotic decision.”
But the Tudum article suggests that the problems ran much deeper, as some insider reporting has indicated, if Hemsworth was being contacted all the way back in 2020 about taking this part. Perhaps they tried to make things work with Cavill for season 3 after a rocky season 2 process, but ultimately Hemsworth came on board. What isn’t clear is when exactly it was cemented that he would replace Cavill, but that too may be far earlier than anyone knew. There are two sides to every story, but Netflix apparently wants to erase just how early it was that Cavill was considering being replaced.
I have asked Netflix for comment and will report back if they get back to me.
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Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.