It was last month when we first learned that Henry Cavill had decided to leave the role of Geralt of Rivia in The Witcher. His last time playing the iconic literary and video game character will come in the show's upcoming third season, with The Hunger Games star Liam Hemsworth tapped to take over as the formidable monster hunter starting with season 4.
The news has been met with something of a mixed (well, mostly negative) response from fans, though Redanian Intelligence (via SFFGazette.com) has now revealed more details about what led to the Hemsworthbeing cast.
Apparently, he was actually among the frontrunners for the role back in 2018, only to lose out to Cavill. It's unclear how close he actually came to joining the Netflix series at the time, but the point here is that the Australian actor is someone who has been on the radar of The Witcher's producers for some time.
Sources tell the site that there was no extensive casting process when it came time to replace Cavill and that it's likely producers revised old audition tapes and singled out Hemsworth. This all happened this past summer when season 3 of The Witcher was still in production.
Here's where things get interesting, though. They also point out that The Falcon and The Winter Soldier and Thunderbolts star Sebastian Stan was among those rumoured to be a frontrunner back in 2018. That has to mean there was at least a slim chance he was considered for the upcoming fourth season of the show as well.
As of right now, it doesn't look like production on season 4 will begin until the second half of 2023, meaning we probably won't get to see Hemsworth in action as Geralt until late 2024. The series does typically shoot on location in the UK, so keep your fingers crossed we get an early look at Cavill's replacement in action when those cameras start rolling.
How are you guys feeling about The Witcher having a new Geralt of Rivia? Let us know in the comments section.