With many fans understandably disappointed by Henry Cavill’s departure, The Witcher show’s creator Lauren Schmidt Hissrich has discussed the fan backlash. The actor’s departure from the hit Netflix fantasy franchise has been the talk of the town for the past month, with the news following his come back to the DC Universe as Superman in Black Adam, with plans for him to continue in a major capacity. Despite the loss of its main star, The Witcher season 4 was confirmed at the same time, with Liam Hemsworth replacing Cavill, but fans of the show were not pleased with the idea.
Lauren Schmidt Hissrich finally opened about Henry Cavill’s departure from the franchise while speaking with TechRadar about the upcoming prequel show, The Witcher: Blood Origin. Though she preferred to keep the focus on the upcoming show, she acknowledged his departure as a “big deal” for the team and requested for the fan backlash to stop. See what Hissrich had to say about it below:
“It’s a big deal for us, too… And that’s the thing – there’s a lot of talk and rumors about, and we fully understand why fans are going there. What I will say is please come back for The Witcher season three so that we can continue to do this. Obviously, that [Cavill’s departure] is huge news. But what I don’t want to do is – this has to stay about Blood Origin, Declan [de Barra, Blood Origin’s showrunner], the cast, and the crew. This is their time in the spotlight.”
Why Is Fans Upset About Cavill’s Exit?
Since the announcement, the Witcher fan backlash has been intense, with the main reason cited being Henry Cavill’s own fandom for the source material. Cavill was well-known for his love of the fantasy series long before the show even aired, which stemmed from his having played the Witcher games from CD Projekt Red on gaming PCs he built himself. He’s even boasted about his ability to complete The Witcher 3 multiple times, despite failing to beat the game on the hardest difficulty.
Cavill’s enthusiasm for The Witcher extended to his development of Geralt of Rivia for Netflix show, where he sought out a distinct accent to help establish his Rivian roots rather than using his natural British accent. The actor also pushed for the tv series to stay true to Andrzej Sapkowski’s novels, that reportedly caused creative tension between Cavill & the writer’s room. With former Witcher showwriter Beau DeMayo recently stating that multiple writers on the tv series “actively dislike” the source material, the backlash to Cavill’s departure was only heightened.
How Fan Reactions Could Destroy The Witcher
While the unofficial reason given for Cavill’s Witcher exit has just been his busy schedule, the fan backlash to his departure, when combined with the poor reviews from audiences for season 2, presents a significant challenge for the show to overcome. If The Witcher season 3 receives positive reviews and provides an adequate explanation for Hemsworth’s recasting, it might just be able to survive its backlash and secure future seasons. Only time will reveal how audiences react when Season 3 premieres in mid-2023.
Source: TechRadar