‘It Started to Become a Distraction’ — Backlash to Henry Cavill Recasting as Geralt for The Witcher Caused Liam Hemsworth to Quit Social Media and the Internet for Most of 2024

Liam Hemsworth has spoken for the first time about the recasting of Henry Cavill as Geralt for Netflix’s The Witcher, admitting reaction online forced him off social media and the internet.

Cavill’s exit sparked a backlash from some fans of the show, which has seen enormous success with former Superman actor Cavill as Geralt for three seasons. It’s still unknown why Cavill left but the actor said in November 2021 he was absolutely committed to a seven season run of The Witcher “as long as we can keep telling great stories which honor Sapkowski’s work.”

Netflix announced in November 2022 that The Witcher would continue without its leading man. Last year, speaking to Collider, Ciri actress Freya Allan said she felt sorry for Hemsworth for having to take over from Cavill in what was “not an ideal situation.”

“I feel sorry for him, honestly, because, number one, that fan base can be very attack-y, and it’s not an ideal situation to be in taking up someone else’s role,” she said. “But I’m really excited to see what he does. And he’s such a lovely guy. I just hope that people give him the time of day.”

Now, speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Hemsworth remembered the moment the recasting news broke and how reaction online affected him.

“There was quite a bit of noise and I had to put that aside. It started to become a distraction,” he said. “I dealt with that sort of thing in the past a lot and, you know, at the end of the day, I love making movies and I love telling stories and acting. I just don’t want any of that to affect my way of telling the story that I’m trying to tell. I jumped off social media and the internet most of last year.”

The offer to play Geralt “came out of nowhere,” Hemsworth revealed, adding: “I was as surprised as anyone.”

Hemsworth told EW he’s played CD Projekt’s The Witcher 3 several times, but has never managed to complete the main story. He called it “one of the best video games of all time.”

Back in 2022, Cavill took to social media to say he would return to play Superman “after being told by the studio” to do so, but new DC Studio heads James Gunn and Peter Safran went in another direction (Gunn later admitted Cavill was messed about by previous studio leadership). Cavill went on to sign a deal with Amazon and Games Workshop to adapt Warhammer 40,000, a tabletop game he loves, and is currently recovering from a leg injury sustained training for the Highlander reboot.

The Witcher Season 4, meanwhile, premieres on Netflix on October 30. The season’s official plot synopsis reads: “After the Continent-altering events of Season Three, Geralt, Yennefer, and Ciri find themselves separated by a raging war and countless enemies. As their paths diverge, and their goals sharpen, they stumble on unexpected allies eager to join their journeys. And if they can accept these found families, they just might have a chance at reuniting for good…”

The Witcher’s penultimate season is composed of eight episodes that run 50 minutes each. The series ends with Season 5.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.