The merchandise would obviously take a hit if the main actor with which the character was most associated, announces his departure from the series. This is exactly what happened with Henry Cavill and his departure from the Netflix franchise The Witcher.
With a deep love for The Witcher lore, there are several memorabilia and merchandise that resemble Henry Cavill’s Geralt of Rivia. After his departure, the prices of figurines and collectibles that are Cavill-centric have dropped as far as 50% as the popularity of the series decreases.
Henry Cavill’s Exit Caused The Witcher To Crash
With swords, monsters, humans, and every other magical (or in this case…chaotic) race that exists in the world of The Witcher. Based on the fictional novels of Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski, The Witcher tells the story of a mutant who kills monsters for gold with a sense of responsibility and has a child (through destiny somehow) to save the world or complete the prophecy (or maybe both).
During the initial phase of the series, Henry Cavill was cast in the lead role of Geralt of Rivia in the Netflix series. Being an avid gamer himself, people loved Cavill for what he was able to bring into the character of Geralt and the deeply conflicted emotions hidden beneath a mask of monster blood and rage that was perfectly in balance with what people wanted.
After his fallout from showrunner Lauren S. Hissrich, people heard the news that Cavill will depart the Netflix franchise soon. This, in turn, took a massive hit on the sales of merchandise and collectibles from the show to such an extent that prices had to be halved to avoid major losses for the company responsible!
According to reports, a PVC statue that resembles Henry Cavill was originally priced at $60 but after the “limited-time offer”, the price was reduced to $42. This could be seen as a direct result of the Enola Holmes actor’s exit since the franchise suffered terrible losses after his walkout and was review bombed by angry fans around the world.
Henry Cavill Also Caused The Witcher: Blood Origin To Fail
Although the spin-off was bound to fail, the walkout of the Man of Steel actor escalated the situation to newer heights. In a bid to explore the origins of a Witcher, the showrunner Lauren S. Hissrich and Declan de Barra tried to expand the Witcherverse beyond its current horizons.
What they failed to notice however was that the series was not ready to be released as it all felt like a hushed effort to bring out just about anything with a monster or two in them. Henry Cavill’s walkout during the release of this spin-off, however, made the people angrier.
The Witcher: Blood Origin received a record low of 4.7/10 on IMDB and a meager 30% on Rotten Tomatoes. As for Henry Cavill, the actor is set to return for The Witcher season 3 when it airs sometime during 2023.
Source: Digital Spy
