Entertainment
Thousands sign petition calling for The Witcher ‘to replace writers instead of Henry Cavill’-Sabrina Barr-Entertainment – Metro
Liam Hemsworth is set to replace Henry Cavill from season 4.
Henry Cavill will make his exit after the third season (Picture: Susie Allnut/Netflix)
Thousands of passionate fans of The Witcher have signed a petition calling for Henry Cavill not to leave the show, insisting that they want the writers to be replaced instead.
On Saturday, it was announced that after three outings as Geralt of Rivia, when season 4 of The Witcher is released on Netflix, Henry, 39, will be replaced by The Hunger Games actor Liam Hemsworth, 32.
In a statement, the Superman star said: ‘My journey as Geralt of Rivia has been filled with both monsters and adventures, and alas, I will be laying down my medallion and my swords for Season 4,’ while also dubbing his successor ‘fantastic’.
In his own statement, Liam added: ‘Henry Cavill has been an incredible Geralt, and I’m honoured that he’s handing me the reins and allowing me to take up the White Wolf’s blades for the next chapter of his adventure.’
There’s been a divided response to the casting news among the fandom, with some pledging to boycott Netflix as a result.
Plenty of people have since turned to a Change.org petition to voice their displeasure at the change, with more than 15,000 signing it at the time of writing.
There’s been a divided response to the casting news (Picture: PA/Getty Images/Netflix)
The title of the petition reads: ‘NETFLIX: You MUST keep Henry Cavill as The Witcher and replace the writers instead.’
The summary explained that Andrzej Sapkowski, who wrote the books on which fantasy drama is based, was ‘more than happy with Henry Cavill’s appearance as The Witcher’.
The petition emphasised how big a fan Henry was of the source material, knowing ‘all of it inside out’, adding that he ‘wanted to stay true to Sapkowski’s world’.
Thousands have signed the petition (Picture: Change.org)
‘Let us show them in pure numbers (and thus lost money, because that’s all they really care about) that none of us Witcher fans will stand with them and will abandon the show (and potentially our subscriptions) after The Witcher season 3 is concluded,’ the petition organiser wrote.
In a Twitter thread posted in June 2020, The Witcher showrunner Lauren S Hissrich explained why in her opinion, it’s ‘equally’ as important to have writers who are familiar with a fictional world as it is to have writers who are not.
‘When you write an adaptation, you have to be familiar with the original work. Yes. Of course. The writers and staff on The Witcher had to read all of the books, and had to appreciate/enjoy the genre. But I specifically didn’t seek out ten Sapkowski scholars,’ she wrote.
‘Instead, I found several writers who were intimately familiar with the characters and themes and politics of the Continent. Some grew up with these stories (lookin at you @Ba66ins) and provided rich detail and insight into not just the books, but the history behind them.
‘But it was equally important to have writers in the room who were able to question the “givens” in the books. Who could say, “Why do people hate the elves so much?” or “Wait, I still don’t understand Ciri’s bloodline. How do we examine it in a clearer way for the tv audience?”’
Lauren stressed that they needed writers ‘fighting for the spirit of the books’ and the ‘intention of the author’, but also writers who are aware that ‘novels can’t be a 1:1 adaptation to TV’.
‘We need writers who are close, but not too close. Who love the world, but aren’t afraid to question it. Who are fans, but are willing to step back and open their minds, in order to bring their beloved world to our real (big) one. I hope we did that,’ she stated.
Metro.co.uk has contacted Netflix for comment.
The Witcher is available to watch on Netflix.
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