Did Henry Cavill Quit ‘The Witcher’? Answered

October 29th, 2022 brought tragic news for fans of Henry Cavill’s dirtbag-Aragorn phase everywhere, with the actor confirming via Instagram that he really wouldn’t be returning to The Witcher after season three. Season 4 will see the titular Witcher, Geralt of Rivia, played by Liam Hemsworth, an actor who’s currently most famous for his part as Gale in The Hunger Games movies, as well as being Thor (Chris Hemsworth’s) little brother. Cavill’s Instagram announcement passed the torch, as he put it, to Hemsworth with grace and enthusiasm, as well as expressing deep affection for the part and the franchise as a whole.

This enthusiasm and affection only fuelled the speculation that’s been rampant since the story first broke, with both Cavill and the studio being pretty tight-lipped about why The Witcher superfan was leaving what should have been his dream job. Theories have ranged from creative differences to Cavill’s movie schedule to the actor getting fired for one reason or another, but without an official statement from either the actor or the studio there was no definitive answer to be had.

Did Henry Cavill quit The Witcher or was he fired?

We still don’t have an official statement from either Cavill or the studio on why his tenure with The Witcher is at an end but it seems increasingly unlikely that the actor was pushed out against his will—especially in light of his continued praise of and seemingly cordial relationship with the show. How cordial his departure actually was, however, given the largely anonymous reports of conflict on the set, and Cavill’s alleged negative feelings about the direction they were taking the show in particular, is hard to say.

Most of the cast signed on to The Witcher with three-season-long contracts, with the remaining cast re-negotiating before season four. Given the number of other projects Cavill’s been involved with this year, and is rumored to be involved with going forward, it may be that this was just the natural moment for him and Geralt to part ways, especially when you consider that most of The Witcher is filmed in intense periods in Poland, making it different to fit other work around. Then again, there are the longstanding, highly detailed rumors about the issues on set, including a claim that several writers involved actively despise the source material—something that would be very difficult for a fan like Cavill, who appears to live breathe and eat The Witcher franchise, to tolerate.

We do know that Cavill was unhappy with a number of the creative decisions early on, and that he had a lot of feedback and input on how Geralt should be portrayed in order to stay true to the source material, only some of which was taken up by the showrunners. This conflict may well have influenced his decision to leave the show despite, or perhaps because, of how much he loves Geralt—unwilling to inaccurately portray “the most fascinating and nuanced of men” any longer.

“The things that I pushed for, it was not necessarily just more dialogue. It was bringing a more book-accurate Geralt to the screen. Because as I’m sure you know in the books, Geralt is an amateur philosopher. He’s an intellectual. He’s wise and thoughtful. Yes, he’s at times morose, morbid and snarky. But it’s important for me to have the character be three-dimensional, and it’s tricky to do, as I was saying earlier, because there’s a certain vision and there’s a certain set, storyline and plot. And so, it was about me trying to find Geralt’s place within that. All of my asks and requests were along the lines of just being faithful to the source material.”

Henry Cavill

The same interview also mentions a serious injury sustained during filming. Cavill insists on performing his own fight scenes and much of his stunts to better enable suspension of disbelief among viewers. To properly recover from a torn hamstring, it’s important to rest as much as possible. Staged battles on unsteady ground definitely don’t qualify, and it’s possible this influenced his decision to exit the show. There also seems to have been quite a bit of pressure on him to push his limits while recovering from the injury, which could understandably make him worried about a career-ending injury. Combined with the other alleged dysfunction on set, it’s possible the working environment itself played a part in his departure.

“With the production always asking me, you know, ‘Can you do more? Can we do more?’ it was that fine line between wanting to help out as much as possible, especially with my fellow actors, and actually looking after your career.”

Henry Cavill

So did he quit? Perhaps but, either way, he’s definitely not coming back. It looks like we’re never going to know for sure why Cavill left the show, but one thing’s for certain: Henry Cavill’s Geralt is gone for good. All hail Liam Hemsworth’s Geralt, may he be a worthy successor.

(featured image: Netflix)