Netflix’s latest preview of the The Witcher‘s upcoming third season says the show’s next installment will focus on its newfound family. When viewers return to the Continent they’ll find Geralt, Yennefer, Ciri, and “Uncle” Jaskier are a unit—one that will face dangers they’ve never encountered before. But off-screen The Witcher family is splitting up. Season three will also be Henry Cavill’s last. It won’t be Geralt of Rivia’s, though. Liam Hemsworth will pick up the White Wolf’s mantle when the show comes back for future years.
With its wildly popular star leaving, why not simply end the show entirely rather than try and replace him? Or at least kill off Geralt and replace him with another witcher entirely? Showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich has provided a very good reason for fans wondering why they opted to recast the role: Geralt’s story is far from over.
GamesRadar shared Total Film‘s exclusive interview with The Witcher‘s Hissrich. In it she addressed the obvious questions raised by replacing Cavill with The Hunger Games’ Hemsworth. After saying everyone on the show has “been mourning” Cavill’s departure in their “own way,” she explained why they opted to not only keep going without him but why they’re keeping Geralt around. “There’s just too many stories left to tell,” she said.
But why not tell those stories with a different witcher entirely so your new star doesn’t have to live up to the old one? “If we replaced Geralt with another witcher, we would be going fully away from the books,” she said. “And I don’t think that’s what anyone wanted either.”
While she acknowledges Hemsworth has some pretty big monster-killing shoes to fill, she says he’s up for the challenge. As are the rest of the people who make the show. Hissrich says because they love The Witcher they’re “gonna keep going.”
We bet that’s what Geralt would want, too. Every Geralt.
