It came as a shock when Henry Cavill departed from The Witcher franchise back in December 2022. The actor, being an avid gamer, is a fan of the franchise and has portrayed the role of Geralt of Rivia for 3 seasons in the Netflix show before his departure.
Citing the reason as a creative difference between Henry Cavill and showrunner Lauren S. Hissrich, there are now reports that Netflix writers did not like the source material at all. The lore (novels) written by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski was allegedly ‘actively mocked’ during the production of the series!
When Henry Cavill Had To Depart Netflix’s The Witcher
During the earlier days of Netflix’s The Witcher, Henry Cavill was not hailed as the actor to portray Geralt of Rivia. The actor proved people wrong with his acting skills and his deep understanding of the grim world of the Witcher and its lore.
While departing the franchise, Cavill was rumored to have a creative difference with showrunner Lauren S. Hissrich. It was alleged that the showrunner did not respect the source material enough and she wanted her own twists on Geralt of Rivia to make the show even more enticing. Being a devotee of the truth, Henry Cavill departed from the franchise with Liam Hemsworth set to replace the Man of Steel actor.
According to a video on YouTube that discussed the behind-the-scenes of The Witcher, the writers were given a bad light.
“The orginal story of The Witcher was actively mocked because members of the writing team weren’t fans of the source material” the video stated. “Writers had an active dislike for the source material and this was an inevitable recipe for all kinds of disaster”
The Witcher is based on the books written by Andrzej Sapkowski that detailed a long journey of destiny between the three main characters of Geralt, Yennefer, and Ciri. There had already been some serious deviations from the source material but season 4 seemed to cross the limit since Henry Cavill had to depart the franchise.
Andrzej Sapkowski Talks About Henry Cavill’s The Witcher
The Polish author recently attended the Taipei International Book Exhibition 2023 to talk about upcoming books set in the same universe as that of Geralt of Rivia. With Geralt’s story now concluded, the author might go for a deeper dive into the lore of the grim universe. Talking about general adaptations of books to movies or series, Andrzej Sapkowski gave a diplomatic answer when asked about Netflix’s The Witcher. Being a man of few words, Sapkowski stated, “I’ve seen better, I’ve seen worse,”.
The author also addressed the earlier issues of the series straying away from the source material as early as the first season. When asked whether he felt satisfied with the script of The Witcher during the initial days, Sapkowski said, “Why not…I am. It’s far from my books. Well, but adaptations are like that,”
There has been currently no news regarding the release of the third season of Netflix’s The Witcher. The only confirmed news is that it will be Henry Cavill’s last portrayal as Geralt of Rivia. The earlier seasons of The Witcher are available to stream on Netflix.
Source: YouTube
