Netflix’s The Witcher is going through some major changes for its upcoming fourth season, namely with Liam Hemsworth replacing Henry Cavill as everyone’s favorite monster hunter, Geralt of Rivia. Cavill shockingly made the decision to depart the hit fantasy series to focus on other projects, such as the Highlander reboot, the Warhammer 40,000 adaptation, and his return to the DCEU as Superman (the latter of which unfortunately didn’t last very long). Now, Hunger Games franchise star Liam Hemsworth will be carrying Geralt’s steel and silver swords, and he recently opened up on his connection to The Witcher franchise.
While speaking with Collider’s Tania Hussain during a press junket for his new film Lonely Planet, Hemsworth was asked what it was like to be taking on the role of Geralt from Cavill. In addition to comparing the “unique situation” to Doctor Who, Hemsworth also explained what his connection to The Witcher franchise was before joining the cast. While he wasn’t as familiar with the books or even the show up until that point, Hemsworth was and is a big fan of the critically acclaimed video games by developer CD Projekt Red. He told Collider:
“This was a really unique situation that I don’t think many actors have ever dealt with apart from maybe the people who have played
Doctor Who
characters over the years because predominantly the rest of the cast has stayed the same, but the lead actor has changed. For me, it felt like coming in and starting high school when everyone else is already friends and has relationships with each other and has been there since the beginning. At times you kind of feel like an outsider, and it’s nothing like any of the cast or crew has treated me in that way. Everyone has been nothing but welcoming and extremely aware of what the situation is.I got a call from Netflix two years ago and was told the situation, and was told that they were gonna move ahead with this show, and the rest of the cast wanted to move ahead with it, and they asked me to do it. As a fan of the video game — I’d played the video game 10 years ago or something and was a massive fan of the video game — I said, ‘Let me watch the TV show and let me have a look at the books and dig into it,’ and the idea of playing that character was really exciting. I’m a big fan of fantasy worlds and films like
The Lord of the Rings
, and to step into this character was daunting in a lot of ways, not only because of the obvious — that someone else had been playing this character and there is a big fan base behind it that cares about that character — but I was asked to do the job, and I honestly felt like I could come in and do something cool with it. As a fan myself of that character, I had the opportunity to go and do that. It was really exciting and scary at the same time.”
When Does ‘The Witcher’ Season 4 Come Out?
The wait for The Witcher Season 4 has been extensive, to say the least. The announcement of Henry Cavill’s exit came before Season 3 was even released, and sadly, the wait is still continuing. As of this writing, The Witcher Season 4 still does not have a release date. At present, Hemsworth says he’s got “three more weeks of shooting” before the new season wraps and post-production can begin.
“At times when you feel that fear and that doubt, you’ve kind of got to jump and take that risk. It also motivated me to really prepare for the job and do as much as I could to make sure when I turned up to set that I was ready to play that part and felt comfortable in those shoes. It’s been a great experience. I’ve got three more weeks of shooting, and it’s been an incredible year. I’m looking forward to doing the next season next year. I’m very excited about it.”
While you wait for Season 4, Seasons 1 through 3 of The Witcher are currently available to stream on Netflix.
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