“Franchise is the strength”: When ‘The Witcher’s’ Executive Producers Went Unhinged on the Future Beyond Henry Cavill

Published 02/16/2024, 3:20 AM EST

via Imago

Despite being an established actor from British soil, Henry Cavill has often had a stroke of tough luck with franchises even after being their poster face. First, the world glimpsed his farewell from the cape of Superman in the DCEU, and then the fans had to watch their favorite, yet former Geralt take his last bow from The Witcher show. While for the Cavill fans, the past year had been no cakewalk to see their figure of inspiration losing the slip of big-budget franchises, his consecutive departure from The Witcher after DCEU led fans into a bigger dismay considering his dedication to the show.

While fans might not have gotten over the former Geralt to picture Liam Hemsworth as of yet, the executive producers, Tomek Baginski, and Steve Gaub managed to hack their way to a Witcherverse beyond Cavill last year itself. 

Tomek Baginski and Steve Gaub’s opinion on The Witcher after Henry Cavill

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For the world, it is definitely difficult to face-shift Henry Cavill to Liam Hemsworth like an AI tool imagination. However, for the producers, Cavill is not the only personality encompassing The Witcher’s world, as their interview with Daily Express US from 2023 suggests. Instead, as per Gaub, “franchise is the strength” and hence, its “characters” and “stories” continue to garner viewership despite the news of its leading man leaving. 

via Imago

Defending the change of Geralt, Gaub also said that he can easily name “five or six” different franchises that have had their protagonist changed. Clapping back at his co-producer, Baginski even teased further. He informed of having found a “really smart idea” to explain this transition from Cavill to Hemsworth. Although he did remind how great Cavill had been for the role, he made a promise for Hemsworth’s initiation to be as worthy. As his entry might be assuming through the privilege of diverse “POVs”, both the producers chose the world without Cavill.

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Cutting chase to 2024, now the alleged POVs no longer need the shroud of secrecy. The reason is that the makers are actively working on a smooth transition from the former to the newer Geralt. Hence, the “really smart idea” is ultimately actualizing. 

The Witcher’s plan to introduce Liam Hemsworth

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A year ago, the show’s producers did tease about explaining Cavill’s transition to Hemsworth. However, they were sly enough to keep their lips mum on the question of how. A year later, Redanian Intelligence reported exactly how the producers and the team had been planning to explain this recast. In an audition tape, a scene with a young girl, Nimue, and a bard, Stribog, came to the surface. 

via Imago

The storyline has been courtesy of Andrzej Sapkowski’s books to pick up the fourth installment from a far-off future. One of the POVs in the making could be Nimue picturing Geralt as Henry Cavill from the legends of Stribog. Thereafter, her following the man of legends could lead her to eventual crossover with Liam Hemsworth as Geralt. That is, instead of Cavill. However, since other POVs could be in the works too, one has to await the course of action to see how the makers justify without making things abrupt.

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What do you think of The Witcher’s executive producer’s opinion on the Witcherverse beyond Henry Cavill? Let us know in the comments below!

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Anushka Bhattacharya

551 articles

I'm Anushka Bhattacharya, an entertainment journalist at Netflix Junkie. Armed with a degree in literature, I once wielded my words to catalyze change within society through my work with NGOs. However, as I stumbled into the exuberant hole of crime thrillers and documentaries on Netflix, it was love at first sight and pushed me into entertainment journalism.

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