It’s a sad day for Witcher fans as it has been announced that Henry Cavill will be leaving the show after the third season. Cavill has become a fan favorite for his portrayal of Geralt of Rivia, and many were disappointed to hear of his departure. However, showrunner Lauren Hissrich has assured fans that Cavill will receive an appropriate sendoff in the third season.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Hissrich said, “Henry has given so much to the show and so we want to honor that appropriately. We want to give him a heroic sendoff.” The third season, which is based on Time of Contempt by Andrzej Sapkowski, was not written specifically as a farewell to Cavill, but Hissrich says that it works as a natural fit for his departure.
“What is so interesting is that season three, to me, is the closest thing that we’ve done as a one-to-one adaptation of the books,” Hissrich said. “Obviously, we can’t do every page, but Time of Contempt gave us so many big action events, plot points, defining character moments, and huge reveals of a big bad. There’s so much to do that we were able to stick really, really closely with the books.”
Cavill’s departure from The Witcher was widely believed to be connected to his pursuit of the Superman role in movies. Cavill had previously played the iconic superhero in several films, but in October of this year, he announced that he would not be returning to the role. However, Hissrich has said that Cavill’s departure from The Witcher was not related to his departure from Superman and that it has not been considered a possibility for his return.
“We have plans to keep this going in various permutations,” Hissrich said of The Witcher. “I love the mothership, I’m going to stick to it, but obviously we have Blood Origin coming out. I hope that this doesn’t end for a while. So I think the possibilities are endless, and we’ll see what happens.”
While Cavill may be leaving The Witcher, he still has plenty to keep him busy. Amazon and Games Workshop recently announced that Cavill will be producing and starring in a cinematic universe based on Warhammer 40,000. Cavill is a well-known fan of the series and even appeared in the 2020 DLC for Total War: Warhammer 2.
While it is disappointing to see Cavill leave The Witcher, fans can take comfort in the fact that he will be receiving a fitting sendoff in the third season. And who knows, perhaps we will see him return to the franchise in the future.
