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From all the stories circulating, it sounds like Cavil was just getting fed up with the writer's room.

Yeah, there's the quote from the Xmen 97 revival showrunner stating that fellow writers in the Witcher writers' room actively disliked the books and game and made fun of it. That's not a recipe for a fan favorite no matter how much the actor is a fan (which Cavill was in addition to WHFB and 40k).

Wait... They made 3 seasons of the Witcher already?

 Lance845 wrote:
Wait... They made 3 seasons of the Witcher already?

They confirmed season 4 today and that Cavil won't be in.

I think S3 is now in post-production.

It's a shame to lose him, but if the writers are messing and not liking the source material (why the heck are you working on the project then?); then I can well see how a fan would just want to walk away.

It's a shame to lose him, its been rather great having a "geek" in the limelight that he's been in and having genuine interest in geeky things. We've known for years that there's a good few dnd/geeky sorts in hollywood and such but they tend to keep it more private - he openly celebrated things.


Hopefully he lands another great role!

 Overread wrote:

Hopefully he lands another great role!

Besides his return to Superman that was just announced? James Bond is open for a new actor...

Yeah, the show always had an odd feeling to it. With all the rumors about the writers floating about and now Henry leaving the show, my hopes for a decent S3 are gone.

"Alright, so, I've got this idea."
"Yeah?"
"You know how Henry Cavil is basically perfect casting for Geralt and embodies that character through and through?"
"Yep! He's great!"
"Ok, well, I thought that maybe we replace him with a Hemsworth."
"Ok... well I mean I guess they're not making any Thor or Avenger films at the moment, so Chris could probably do it. He's certainly got the physicali-"
"No, no, not Chris. Liam."
"Liam?"
"Yeah."
"The one with no charisma and seemingly no personality beyond looking slightly like his better looking brother?"
"That's the one!"
"Well... I 'spose it would take attention away from us screwing over the story and making gak up rather than using the actual books. So why not. Let's get Charismaless Hemsworth to play a role that everyone loves Henry in already!"


Jesus just cancel the series already...

To be fair I think Chris Hemsworth would be a terrible choice. Why get a funny charasmatic tan guy to play a dull near emotionless pale mutant monster hunter.

Oh I never said he would be a good choice, just that when people think of Hemsworth, they tend not to think of the boring one no one likes.

Whichever Hemsworth is in Westworld is really good. I know there are 3 Hemsworths but I can't keep track of the 2 that are not Chris.

Given Cavill was a fan of the Witcher, was extremely excited to play Geralt, and is a bit of a nerd... him leaving makes me think Season 3 is probably going to suck.

The series always felt like such wasted potential, I guess Cavill thought the same way.

Him and Joey Batey were the highlights of the show and what were keeping it afloat. Yenn's character never really landed with me.

I'll give it a watch, given I already pay for netflix it's not like it costs me any extra to try it, but my expectations are set low.

Kind of a bummer, but also opens up the possibility that overall the show could improve in certain ways since Hemsworth’s asking price is probably a fraction of Cavills.

That kind of casting change won't work as well as the type of casting time skip changes in House of the Dragon. I don't even know if I see the point in the attempt. This was a pretty enjoyable show for the most part, I was looking forward to more of it. I know it played a bit loose with the lore but as a show I found it more enjoyable than amazons LOTR stuff.

I'm randomly trying to think now of TV shows that managed to swap lead actors without people spotting.

I know Stargate did it, but there was a pretty big chunk of time between the films and the TV series. Both in reality and also in the setting itself. Though if I recall right they also changed at least one actor between the launch episodes of the first TV series and the series proper.

 warboss wrote:

Besides his return to Superman that was just announced? James Bond is open for a new actor...

I believe he's making a WW2 spy flick with Guy Richie. While that is great news, as the pairing was excellent in The Man From U.N.K.L.E., it probably means he has fairly low expectations of landing the Bond role.

 Overread wrote:
I'm randomly trying to think now of TV shows that managed to swap lead actors without people spotting.

I know Stargate did it, but there was a pretty big chunk of time between the films and the TV series. Both in reality and also in the setting itself. Though if I recall right they also changed at least one actor between the launch episodes of the first TV series and the series proper.

Star Gate didn't really swap lead actor though. It swapped the lead character and I think most fans would agree Mitchell's tenure just wasn't the same as O'Neil's. Very few shows (only one that comes to mind is Doctor Who) have switched who plays their lead character and managed.

Having to find a new actor to play your lead character is, IMO, almost always a bad thing. It signals trouble on the set and the dynamics of how the show is made. People don't quit jobs they love. They don't even quit jobs they dislike so long as they're well paid. People quit jobs they hate.

 LordofHats wrote:

 Overread wrote:
I'm randomly trying to think now of TV shows that managed to swap lead actors without people spotting.

I know Stargate did it, but there was a pretty big chunk of time between the films and the TV series. Both in reality and also in the setting itself. Though if I recall right they also changed at least one actor between the launch episodes of the first TV series and the series proper.

Star Gate didn't really swap lead actor though. It swapped the lead character and I think most fans would agree Mitchell's tenure just wasn't the same as O'Neil's. Very few shows (only one that comes to mind is Doctor Who) have switched who plays their lead character and managed.

Having to find a new actor to play your lead character is, IMO, almost always a bad thing. It signals trouble on the set and the dynamics of how the show is made. People don't quit jobs they love. They don't even quit jobs they dislike so long as they're well paid. People quit jobs they hate.

He is talking going from Stargate the movie to Stargate SG1 where both actors were playing the same character.

 Overread wrote:
I'm randomly trying to think now of TV shows that managed to swap lead actors without people spotting.

I know Stargate did it, but there was a pretty big chunk of time between the films and the TV series. Both in reality and also in the setting itself. Though if I recall right they also changed at least one actor between the launch episodes of the first TV series and the series proper.

It worked better since it was a movie to television transition, rather than just a jump between seasons of a TV show. In the show they actually hint very cheekily at the two O'neills (one spelled with only one L) being separate characters, although I don't think that's actually canon (it's one guy).

They didn't change actors for any one character that I recall; some characters rotated in and out (Daniel Jackson was replaced by Jonas Quinn in season 6, for example) but the same actors played the same characters.

WAIT I thought of one!

Fresh Prince of Bel Air! Aunt Viv's actress changed from Janet Hubert-Whitten in seasons 1-3 to Daphne Maxwell Reid in seasons 4 to end.

yeah but she was supporting cast. this would be like fresh prince ditching Will Smith

You can easily Google lists of shows that changed actors for a character. Main one I recognize is Batwoman swapping out their Kate Kane.

I quite liked how Due South did it. For the 3rd and 4th seasons, the detective was effectively played by someone else, but it was done as if the new guy was secretly replacing the old guy as the old guy had to go into hiding or undercover or something. It was so blatant it was amusing, and they played it up a lot as well. Easier to do in a comedy though.

 Flinty wrote:
I quite liked how Due South did it. For the 3rd and 4th seasons, the detective was effectively played by someone else, but it was done as if the new guy was secretly replacing the old guy as the old guy had to go into hiding or undercover or something. It was so blatant it was amusing, and they played it up a lot as well. Easier to do in a comedy though.

Oh yes that was handled well, but I also agree its easier to achieve in a less serious series.

I love Due South.

Another one that springs to mind (for whatever reason) is Lexx, with the recasting of Zev.

The recasting in and of itself doesn't bother me that much.

What bothers me more is that Henry was a big fan of The Witcher, it seemed like a passion project for him, and he stated at some point he's in it for the long haul so long as the writers write good stories and it stays true to the source material.

The fact he's leaving makes me worry it's going even more downhill, the first two seasons weren't great, a few high points but also a lot of mediocre points, certainly not the epic it could have been. With Henry getting out, the expectation to me is that future seasons will be the same or worse.

Shame to hear Henry Cavill is leaving, but it's not too surprising. He didn't seem too pleased about Season 2 during the interview circuit but was professional enough to not to throw any shade.

 His Master's Voice wrote:

 warboss wrote:

Besides his return to Superman that was just announced? James Bond is open for a new actor...

I believe he's making a WW2 spy flick with Guy Richie. While that is great news, as the pairing was excellent in The Man From U.N.K.L.E., it probably means he has fairly low expectations of landing the Bond role.

I loved him in The Man from U.N.K.L.E. so I'm glad to hear he's doing another spy flick.

Thats a shame, suspect it won't get past S4 then, and they can blame in on the Hemsworth lad rather than writing room problems and the other main cast members wanting a better payday as the Flix seems to be less money splashy than in the before times

I saw Blood Origin has released, didn't really even notice it was being released, seems pretty divisive, anyone watched it yet?

AllSeeingSkink wrote:
I saw Blood Origin has released, didn't really even notice it was being released, seems pretty divisive, anyone watched it yet?

Watched the first episode last night. Nothing about it screams “Witcher” just plays like a random high fantasy world. Which it is doing fine with so far. I guess that’s one issue with setting things in the far past. Not a lot of recognizable stuff. Someone more versed in the lore might get more out it it from a world building slash history POV, but I’m just enjoying the general D&D nature of it.

So far, one episode in, so salt as needed.