Season 3 of The Witcher was Henry Cavill's last, as the Man of Steel actor announced his decision to part ways with Netflix's adaptation of the best-selling fantasy novels last October. Liam Hemsworth (The Hunger Games) will take over as Geralt of Rivia from season 4 on.
There have been conflicting reports about Cavill's departure (many feel it may have been down to the show failing to stick to the books), but we still don't know for certain what ultimately led to him deciding to step away from the series.
Now, director Marc Jobst has addressed Cavill exit for the first time, and while he doesn't come right out and say it, his comments certainly indicate that burnout might have factored into it.
"Well, look, Henry has done three series, these are demanding shows to make, you know, they are huge," Jobst tells Screenrant. "Henry does every single beat of his stunts, he won't even allow a hand, if you're doing a close up of a hand grabbing a sword, it has to be his hand. So, normally, what you do is you bring in a double, Henry will go off and shoot some other scene in which he's in somewhere else, and you get somebody else into the hand, so that you don't have to bother your number one. Henry won't do that, and as a result of that, the results are extraordinary. You're working with an incredible athlete, first and foremost, who works out hours before, and hours after, you've been shooting for 12 hours, and who cares deeply about the work that he does."
"That's draining on your number one," he continued, "so after three series, I feel, 'Okay, he's brought the show into being, and if he feels like he's done what he can, I trust him.' That focus that he has, that desire to get it right, is a gift to work with, because it elevates everybody to say, 'Good enough isn't good enough. It's got to be fantastic.' We all want to work like that, we all don't wanna make something that's good, we want to make something incredible."
Whether they succeeded in making "something incredible" is obviously debatable, but a lot of fans were left disappointed by season 3, and especially how Cavill's final scenes were handled.
Will you be tuning in for season 4?
All episodes of The Witcher season 3 are now available on Netflix.
"As monarchs, mages, and beasts of the Continent compete to capture her, Geralt takes Ciri into hiding, determined to protect his newly-reunited family against those who threaten to destroy it. Entrusted with Ciri’s magical training, Yennefer leads them to the protected fortress of Aretuza, where they hope to uncover more about the girl’s untapped powers; instead, they discover they’ve landed in a battlefield of political corruption, dark magic, and treachery. They must fight back, put everything on the line – or risk losing each other forever."
The Witcher also stars Joey Batey (Jaskier), Myanna Buring (Tissaia), Eamon Farren (Cahir), Mimî M Khayisa (Fringilla), Royce Pierreson (Istredd), Anna Shaffer (Triss Merigold), Mecia Simson (Francesca), Tom Canton (Filavandrel), Mahesh Jadu (Vilgefortz), Graham McTavish (Dijkstra), Cassie Clare (Philippa), Hugh Skinner (Radovid), Wilson Mbomio (Dara), Lars Mikkelsen (Stregobor), Terence Maynard (Artorius), Simon Callow (Codringher), Liz Carr (Fenn), Therica Wilson-Read (Sabrina), Safiyya Ingar (Keira), Rochelle Rose (Margarita), Michalina Olszanska) (Marti), Robbie Amell (Gallatin), Jeremy Crawford (Yarpen), Bart Edwards (Emhyr), Aisha Fabienne Ross (Lydia), Christelle Elwin (Mistle), and Meng’er Zhang (Milva).