The Loadout Blog

Entertainment|TV/Streaming

By Drew Bryant
November 6, 2022, theloadoutblog.com

Last week, Netflix announced that Henry Cavill would be stepping away from his iconic role as Geralt of Rivia in The Witcher. This announcement caused a huge uproar among the show’s fan base on Cavill’s departure from the dark fantasy series. In response to that departure, one fan launched a petition calling for Netflix to bring back Cavill and fire the show’s writers.

The petition was launched on Change.org and has recently passed 100,000 signatures a week after being posted. That’s an average of over 14,000 signatures a day. As of 6 a.m. PST, there are 101,321 signatures and counting. The goal is to collect 150,000 signatures from loyal fans of The Witcher to keep Cavill on board as Geralt of Rivia. The petition assumes that Cavill left due to creative differences between the show’s executive producers, writers, and showrunner Lauren S. Hissrich. The writer of the petition states that Hissrich disliked Andrzej Sapkowski’s novels, the source material that inspired the show. This is a sentiment shared by many in The Witcher fan base with many citing the writer’s room as their reason for signing the petition.

One of the main criticisms of the show was the creative decisions made and the story beats of The Witcher series. It has been the belief within the fan base that the writers themselves were not fans of the source material on which the show is based. Recently, this belief was reinforced after former Witcher writer Beau DeMayo made some claims during a recent Q&A session. In that Q&A session, he states, “I’ve been on show – namely Witcher – where some of the writers were not or actively disliked the books and games (even actively mocking the source material).”

Cavill has not made any public statements on his reasons for leaving the series. However, recent reports suggest it was due to creative differences with The Witcher’s producers. Reports also suggest that Cavill consider leaving the project while season 2 was in post-production. It is unknown when the producers began an official search for a replacement for Cavill but, it’s been suggested it occurred during the filming of season 3.

Liam Hemsworth will be taking up the mantle as Geralt of Rivia in season 4 and beyond. Netflix announced this news in the same press release announcing Cavill’s departure from the series. Fans of the dark fantasy series aren’t happy with Cavill’s replacement, departure, or the future of the series as a whole. Season 3 will mark the end of Cavill’s Geralt of Rivia. Cavill may have a chance to return depending on how this petition will sway Netflix to bring him back and fire the writing staff. If you are interested in showing your support and signing the petition, click here.

What do you think about the petition? Do you think Netflix will budge? Let us know in the comments.

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