As the Geralt of Rivia got a recast ahead of Season 4, The Witcher‘s Liam Hemsworth has had his work cut out for him in replacing Henry Cavill.
Following the news in 2022 that he would take over the titular role in the Netflix series, which returns on Oct. 30, Hemsworth revealed that he “jumped off social media and the internet most of last year” amid the fan reaction to his casting.
“There was quite a bit of noise and I had to put that aside. It started to become a distraction,” Hemsworth told Entertainment Weekly. “I dealt with that sort of thing in the past a lot and, you know, at the end of the day, I love making movies and I love telling stories and acting. I just don’t want any of that to affect my way of telling the story that I’m trying to tell.”
At the time of Hemsworth’s casting, Deadline reported that Cavill had made a short-term deal for the series and decided it was time to move on after three seasons, given the overseas filming locations and demanding production schedule.
Cavill called his replacement “fantastic,” adding, “As with the greatest of literary characters, I pass the torch with reverence for the time spent embodying Geralt and enthusiasm to see Liam’s take on this most fascinating and nuanced of men. Liam, good sir, this character has such a wonderful depth to him, enjoy diving in and seeing what you can find.”
Freya Allan, who reprises her role as Ciri in Season 4, previously said she hopes fans “give him the time of day” after Hemsworth received online backlash for the casting.
“I don’t want to speak for him, but from what I’ve understood, I feel like he’s really wanting to try and bring the heart,” she told Collider. “He’s been training. I feel sorry for him, honestly, because, number one, that fan base can be very attack-y, and it’s not an ideal situation to be in taking up someone else’s role.”
Allan added, “But I’m really excited to see what he does. And he’s such a lovely guy. I just hope that people give him the time of day, you know?”