Last year, Henry Cavill, who portrayed Geralt in the first three seasons of The Witcher announced that he is stepping down from this role and Liam Hemsworth will take his place. This was so sudden and surprising since CDPR even added Cavill’s armor to The Witcher 3 game as a celebration of the series’ second season. Liam is mostly known for his role in The Hunger Games franchise and for being the brother of Chris Hemsworth, the actor who plays Thor in the MCU. This decision received enormous backlash from Witcher fans, with many of them even deciding to boycott the series. While many would consider that a rather extreme stance to take, I can see where they’re coming from. Liam Hemsworth won’t make a worthy Witcher to fill Cavill’s large boots, and here’s why.
Will Liam Hemsworth Make a Worthy Witcher?
One of the biggest reasons fans were excited about The Witcher series was because of Henry Cavill. The British actor had for many years played Superman in the newly established DCEU, a role he executed in every single film brilliantly. Not to mention, he appeared in the greater espionage movies A Man from U.N.C.L.E. and Mission Impossible: Fallout before the release of The Witcher. So, he had already found his fandom, which grew in numbers each day. That helped a lot in giving The Witcher a better face for the public. But when fans heard that we will be replaced by Liam Hemsworth, they were devastated.
There are two reasons I believe Liam Hemsworth won’t make a worthy Witcher in Cavill’s stead. Firstly, Hemsworth has been absent from the movie industry and hasn’t been appearing in big films for some time. His last film was Poker Face, which wasn’t a good movie, and his last series was Most Dangerous Game. This understandably causes many onlookers to be skeptical of his ability to portray Geralt. Unlike Cavill, Liam is still unproven as a movie star. He was good in the Hunger Games, sure, but after that, he couldn’t manage to find the right projects that would help his career.
The second and more important reason Hemsworth won’t make a good Witcher is because of Henry Cavill. Replacing the actor behind a series protagonist affects the series deeply, whether it is a good choice or not. It is hard for the viewers to adjust to a new face and voice for the iconic Geralt of Rivia. But when that change happens after the series already has the best actor in place and we’ve already seen him in three seasons, audiences are going to find it extremely tough going. Such a sudden change off the back of such strong performances will likely make winning over The Witcher’s fanbase near impossible.
Related:
5 TV Shows to Watch While Waiting for The Witcher Season 3, Volume 2
Now, don’t get me wrong, there’s no doubt Liam Hemsworth is a good actor. The task, however, of filling the shoes of Henry Cavill as Geralt is a very tall order. Many fans decided to watch this series because of him. Additionally, Cavill was the best choice due to the fact that he knew and appreciated the world of The Witcher. Cavill has a huge amount of passion for the lore and understood the character of Geralt. When you replace that kind of actor after three seasons, you are not going to get positive results. Maybe if this happened at the start of the second season or the middle of the first season, it would be doable. But once you get used to Geralt being fantastically portrayed by Henry Cavill for so long, it is a near-impossible task to replace him.
The Witcher Season 3, Volume 1 is now available on Netflix.
