The Witcher director hints at why Henry Cavill left
When it comes to major franchises, nothing quite hits like losing your lead actor. While the likes of The Walking Dead, Charmed, and The Office all lived beyond losing their lead, they largely limped to their end. Imagine Breaking Bad without Bryan Cranston or The Sopranos without James Gandolfini.
To fill the Henry Cavill-shaped void in The Witcher, Netflix isn't calling it quits or having Freya Allan's Ciri step up to the plate as the lead. As the White Wolf has become synonymous with the fantasy series (well, it's named after him), the streaming giant has cast another big name as Geralt of Rivia.
The Witcher Director hints at why Henry Cavill left
Click to enlargeThe Witcher Season 3 was the end of the road for Cavill's time as Geralt, with viewers disappointed that he effectively walked off into some fog, soon to be replaced by The Hunger Games' Liam Hemsworth in Season 4. There's been much discussion about why Cavill left, and now, the show's director might have some insight.
Speaking to Screen Rant, Marc Jobst explained, "Well, look, Henry has done three series, these are demanding shows to make, you know, they are huge. Henry does every single beat of his stunts, he won't even allow a hand, if you're doing a close up of a hand grabbing a sword, it has to be his hand."
Saying that you'd normally bring in a double, Cavill was something of a perfectionist who wanted to do everything himself: "You're working with an incredible athlete, first and foremost, who works out hours before, and hours after, you've been shooting for 12 hours, and who cares deeply about the work that he does."
Jobst implies that Cavill might've had enough of The Witcher's intense regime, concluding, "That's draining on your number one, so after three series, I feel, "Okay, he's brought the show into being, and if he feels like he's done what he can, I trust him.
"That focus that he has, that desire to get it right, is a gift to work with, because it elevates everybody to say, "Good enough isn't good enough. It's got to be fantastic." We all want to work like that, we all don't wanna make something that's good, we want to make something incredible."
The Witcher is at a major turning point
Click to enlargeThe writing was already on the wall for The Witcher. A series of negative reviews, the abysmal reception of its Blood Origin spin-off, and calls for the writers to step down have us worried for Season 4. There are many vowing to boycott the series, while others are determined to tune in to see how Hemsworth does.
Still, the likes of Showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich are powering forward with plans for the next run of episodes and at least Season 5 with Hemsworth. Way back when, Cavill said he was all-in on plans for seven seasons, although we don't know whether this is still on Netflix's radar.
While the loss of Cavill is still being felt by those who work on The Witcher and fans alike, we have to accept the once-lauded series is closing the door on this chapter. Whether The Witcher should've called it quits here and we're flogging a dead Roach remains to be seen. Either way, you've got a lot a prove in Season 4.
