A major question going into The Witcher season 4 is how Henry Cavill’s departure will be addressed, and although the answer appears to be precisely what I hoped, Netflix may not be handling things the right way. Cavill announced that he would no longer be playing Geralt of Rivia after The Witcher season 3, and this was a significant disappointment considering the actor’s popularity with fans. It’s not every day that we get a leading star who is as big a fan of the IP as we are. Now, with Liam Hemsworth taking over the role, we are in for what is sure to be an uncomfortable transition.
Recasting the leading role of a series is never ideal, and there are historically a handful of ways that such a change can be handled. The Witcher season 4 could simply pretend that nothing had changed, pushing audiences to accept that Hemsworth is now Geralt rather than Cavill. Geralt’s change in appearance could also have been acknowledged through the plot of The Witcher season 4, potentially with some bizarre twist that this is the character from an alternate reality. Personally, I hoped that the Netflix series would address the issue with comedy, and it seems I’m getting my wish.
The Witcher Is Reportedly Using Meta Comedy To Address Henry Cavill’s Exit
According to a report from Redanian Intelligence (via MovieWeb), a sneak peek at a cast table read for The Witcher season 4 suggests that Cavill’s exit will be addressed using meta comedy. The Netflix series is uniquely equipped for such an approach, since characters like Jasiker, especially, have always been rather meta. His jokes and subtle wink-wink nods have been used to poke fun at the show itself, acknowledging audience criticisms of past seasons and storylines, or highlighting convenient plot holes.
Though we can’t know for certain until The Witcher season 4, the report indicates that a character named Stribog (Clive Russell) will open the coming installment by telling a young girl named Nimue (Eve Ridley) stories about Geralt, Ciri, Yennifer, and the rest. As he does, flashback scenes will show Geralt as played by Cavill. However, Stribog will seemingly halt the story to say that the White Wolf didn’t actually look like that. This is when Hemsworth’s version of Geralt would be introduced through a series of flashbacks, during which the new Witcher actor would recreate Cavill’s old scenes.
Stribog & Nimue Could Create A Larger Problem For The Witcher Than They Fix
The Witcher Continues To Play With Fire
Stribog and Nimue aren’t inventions of Netflix’s The Witcher. They are canon characters from Andrzej Sapkowski’s book series, though both live a century after the bulk of Geralt’s story. In a sense, it’s logical that they would be brought in to address Cavill’s departure from The Witcher. Essentially, the Netflix series is depending on an “unreliable narrator” to explain why Geralt’s appearance has changed. It’s saying that these are all just stories and folklore, so there are bound to be different versions, while everyone pictures the characters differently.
Bringing these characters in purely to ease Netflix’s recasting would be frustrating, especially following the overreliance on original characters thus far.
The Witcher series is all about fairy tales and folklore, so this approach on Netflix’s part is decent. Still, a significant criticism against the Witcher TV show is that it hasn’t handled canon characters and stories with respect. It’s rumored that this was precisely what led Cavill to leave the show. So, the introduction of more deep-cut characters is a bit concerning. Stribog telling Nimue stories about Geralt fits with canon, but bringing these characters in purely to ease Netflix’s recasting would be frustrating, especially following the overreliance on original characters thus far. This would be especially upsetting since there was a simple alternative to addressing Cavill’s departure.
There’s A Much Easier (& Funnier) Way The Witcher Could Have Acknowledged Henry Cavill’s Departure
The Witcher’s Meta Approach Could Have Been A Bit Simpler
Though the meta, unreliable-narrator approach would surely be comical and effective, The Witcher could have taken a much easier route. As an already established character, Jaskier would have made a lot more sense. He is a bard responsible for spreading Geralt’s stories around the Continent, and he is already known for making meta references to the plot and characters of The Witcher. A simple joke from Jaskier, stating that he had described Geralt differently in his songs, would have been enough to clear up the misunderstanding about his appearance. Alternatively, simply asking Geralt what happened to his face would have done the trick.
Overall, it’s hard not to get the feeling that Netflix’s The Witcher is a sinking ship. Hopefully, Stribog and Nimua will have more purpose than just providing a meta explanation for Cavill’s exit. However, if this is the primary reason Netflix brought these characters into the show, it would have been far more effective to lean on a comical character like Jaskier, who would have been perfect for the big moment.