The Witcher’s arc in modern film and television history reads like the manual to an intense survival training program where nothing we witness from the outside even borders close to the calamitous fallout faced by those involved in the devastating mishap. The controversial exit of the lead actor, Henry Cavill, which is yet to find a reason beyond “scheduling conflicts” has turned so many heads since the day of the announcement that The Witcher fandom may as well suffer from the convulsions of a collective neck cramp.
But one accomplished Hollywood actor, who unfortunately finds herself appearing for less than 2 minutes at the beginning and end of The Witcher’s prequel series, Blood Origin, finds a way to look at the silver lining amid the darkened haze of roiling anger and grief that’s been clouding the visibility of the fandom. Her proposition: treat The Witcher like Doctor Who.
The Ebb and Flow of Henry Cavill and The Witcher
As sinfully beloved as Henry Cavill has been as Geralt of Rivia, the actor now lays down his swords and the Witcher’s medallion. The news, first received on the final days of October 2022, had a tone of finality to it considering how a replacement was already in place even before Cavill was fully out of the White Wolf’s wig and costume. In the aftermath, the outpouring of rage and confusion that was levied at Netflix and The Witcher’s showrunners was merely a fraction of what the fans felt (since most of the disappointment was being tampered down – at the time – by the news of his Superman return).
Unfortunately, the prequel Blood Origin which launched on Christmas faced an onslaught of criticism and its lackluster delivery was a tangible representation of what happens when an epic narrative loses sight of its potential. By then, Cavill had to hang up his superhero spurs for good as well and the fandom was already mellowed out by the highs and lows of 2022. So when the Blood Origin star and Oscar nominee, Minnie Driver, spoke up about The Witcher’s fate, what she proposed felt like a fan theory rather than a serious suggestion from one of the best actresses of our time.
Minnie Driver’s Comment on The Witcher After Henry Cavill
The Good Will Hunting star, Minnie Driver commented on the fate of the Netflix high fantasy series The Witcher in the aftermath of the drama. She was not the only one with something to contribute to the debate as Oscar-winning actress, Michelle Yeoh, also added that Liam Hemsworth deserved a chance before being subjected to such extraordinary criticism. Driver, in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, claimed:
“We come from this tradition of Doctor Who where the Doctor regenerates. I think we need to look at it far more like it’s amazing. It’s an amazing person, it’s an amazing character, and we should have different people playing it. So that was a really cool conversation with a teenager. He was like, ‘I never thought about it like that.’”
The sole issue with the suggestion is that The Witcher is a high-fantasy epic and not a sci-fi series, and its original lead actor’s knowledge and investment in portraying a source-accurate depiction of Geralt cannot be replicated by any other. This has never been a problem with the numerous reincarnations of the Doctor, and the actors only ever had to exaggerate and sometimes go over the top with their caricature-like disregard for the universe and its never-ending problems.
The Witcher: Blood Origin is now streaming on Netflix.
Source: Entertainment Weekly
