Henry Cavill leaving Netflix’s The Witcher for season 4

Ahead of the third season of Netflix’s live-action adaptation of The Witcher comes confirmation of a fourth season, but with a major change: Actor Henry Cavill is stepping aside as Geralt of Rivia. He will be replaced by Liam Hemsworth (The Hunger Games, Independence Day: Resurgence).

On their respective Instagram profiles, Cavill and Hemsworth discussed the recasting of the series’ lead Witcher.

“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,” Cavill said in a statement. “In my stead, the fantastic Mr. Liam Hemsworth will be taking up the mantle of the White Wolf. As with the greatest of literary characters, I pass the torch with reverence for the time spent embodying Geralt and enthusiasm to see Liam’s take on this most fascinating and nuanced of men. Liam, good sir, this character has such a wonderful depth to him, enjoy diving in and seeing what you can find.”

“As a Witcher fan I’m over the moon about the opportunity to play Geralt of Rivia,” Hemsworth said. “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. Henry, I’ve been a fan of yours for years and was inspired by what you brought to this beloved character. I may have some big boots to fill, but I’m truly excited to be stepping into The Witcher world.”

Cavill announced earlier this week that, as was all-but confirmed by his cameo appearance in Black Adam, he’ll return to the role of Superman in DC’s cinematic universe. A fan-favorite in the role, Cavill hadn’t portrayed the Man of Steel since 2017, in the original release of Justice League. Two more recent live-action DC universe projects, Shazam! and Peacemaker, featured faceless cameos by Superman.

“I wanted to wait until the weekend was over before posting this because I wanted to give you all the chance to watch Black Adam,” Cavill said on Instagram. “Now that plenty of you have, I wanted to make it official: I am back as Superman. What you see in this image and in Black Adam is just a very small taste of things to come. There’s a lot to be thankful for, and I’ll get to that in time, but I wanted to thank you most of all. Thank you for your support and for your patience. I promise it will be rewarded.”

Cavill was cast as Geralt, the White Wolf, in 2018. He brought genuine nerd cred — as an unabashed fan of The Witcher games and books, as well as a devout World of Warcraft and Warhammer geek — to the role. “I really feel a connection to Geralt and who he is and his nature, especially from the books,” Cavill told Polygon in an interview in 2019. “And having played the game for many, many, many hours, it was something that I had a connection with. And so it was just about bringing a version of me, which is a version of Geralt, into Lauren’s show.”

The Witcher season 3 started filming earlier this year, and is slated to start streaming on Netflix in summer 2023. A limited series prequel spinoff, The Witcher: Blood Origin, starring the incomparable Michelle Yeoh, will arrive on Netflix Christmas Day.