We already know that Henry Cavill will not be returning in The Witcher Season 4. But why did the Justice League star leave the Netflix series in the first place? There are speculations that Cavill disagreed with Lauren Schmidt Hissrich and the producers on the direction that the show will be taking. However, writer Javier Grillo-Marxuach insists that this couldn't be further from the truth as he defends Hissrich from the backlash.
The world was truly shocked when Henry Cavill announced his departure from The Witcher and that Geralt of Rivia will be recast with The Hunger Games actor Liam Hemsworth. It didn't take long before people began talking about the real reason why the Enola Holmes star chose to leave the show he was famously passionate about, with some believing that Cavill left because the producers were straying away from the source material. Since then, showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich has faced backlash for allegedly alienating Cavill and causing his exit.
So what truly happened during and after filming for The Witcher Season 3? (Cavill announced his departure after production wrapped). Is it true that the show was straying further away from Andrzej Sapkowski's books? Writer Javier Grillo-Marxuach tweeted about a specific scene in the third season that appeared in the novels then responded to a fan pointing out the "rumors & flat out lies from casting changes of Geralt."
"Also, those of us who know what really went down behind the scenes know what really went down behind the scenes. I stand behind the work, and my boss, 100%," Grillo-Marxuach wrote.
It is an interesting defence that suggests there were unusual things happening that fans don't know about. For instance, some fans have begun wondering if Cavill left the show because the fourth season will shift the focus from Geralt to Ciri. It is believed that he wasn't happy to be taking second billing to Freya Allen.
This is an intriguing possible side of the story but we may never know if there is a hint of truth behind it. Both Cavill and Hissrich are tight-lipped about the situation and it doesn't look like we'll find out the truth right now. In the meantime, fans can finally say goodbye to Cavill's incarnation of Geralt of Rivia.
All eight episodes of The Witcher Season 3 are now streaming on Netflix. Meanwhile, The Witcher Season 4 might be delayed as production has been pushed back to begin in 2024.
