While suspicions were already high for the upcoming fourth season of The Witcher, a series of newly leaked pictures from set have made doubt even greater, as Liam Hemsworth’s Geralt seems to be reenacting the climactic final battle that Henry Cavill already performed at the end of The Witcher season 3. Although The Witcher season 1 made it seem as though the fantasy series could be Netflix’s biggest hit, the consequent seasons have shown that the show is far from perfect. The most recent controversy has been Henry Cavill’s exit and the casting of Liam Hemsworth as Geralt.
In October 2022, Henry Cavill revealed that he would be leaving The Witcher. No explanation was given for Cavill’s exit, however many believe that Cavill left due to creative differences between himself and the showrunners. It’s no secret that Cavill is a huge fan of Andrej Sapkowski’s original The Witcher books, and it’s also well-known that The Witcher showrunners often throw Sapkowski’s source material out the window and do their own thing. Therefore, it seems likely that Cavill could have called it quits for this reason, and now, The Witcher season 4 seems to be making even more strange choices.
Photos were recently leaked from the set of The Witcher season 4, and aside from being a first glimpse at Liam Hemsworth as Geralt, they showed a pretty peculiar picture. The Witcher season 4 set photos, of which there were approximately four, showed Hemsworth fighting on a beach with Mahesh Jadu, who plays the villain Vilgefortz. Out of context, this could’ve been a fairly regular sight, however what the pictures show is a scene that looks far too familiar.
Strangely enough, it all looks the same. The actors are on a similar beach, wearing the same clothing, and performing a very familiar fight. Overall, these set pictures raise more questions than they answer. If Henry Cavill has already performed this part of Geralt’s story, then it is strange that The Witcher season 4 would need to reenact it with Liam Hemsworth. It would be expected that The Witcher season 4 set photos would show something new and exciting, but if anything, these leaked images are perplexing and perhaps slightly concerning for the new season.
Regardless of why The Witcher showrunners are refilming the final fight from season 3, how they use it will be incredibly important in the fourth season. If the creators recreate this scene and try to pass it off as the original, this may rub viewers the wrong way. No one has forgotten watching that scene in season 3, and to see it with Hemsworth inserted in could just be incredibly weird. Sure, Hemsworth is technically Cavill’s replacement, but it doesn’t feel right to rewrite history. How The Witcher handles Geralt’s recasting could honestly make or break the new season.
The key to smoothly handing Geralt over to Hemsworth is maintaining respect for Cavill. Whether Cavill and the showrunners had a conflict or not, his rendition needs to be shown honor and respect. That’s why this leaked remake is so confusing. The last thing The Witcher should do is try to erase what Henry Cavill did as Geralt. Hemsworth certainly needs to be put into cool scenarios that prove he’s capable of playing the monster hunter, but stealing from Cavill’s spotlight is not the way to do it. Hopefully, The Witcher season 4 can clear the air soon.
Most likely, there is a reasonable explanation for why The Witcher season 4 is recreating season 3’s final battle. Perhaps the series wants to include it as a flashback, and it would be weirder to show Henry Cavill’s version in the new Hemsworth era. This could also work for a dream sequence where, perhaps, things don’t play out as they did at the end of season 3. There is also the slim chance that this is a rematch occurring in very similar circumstances as last time. Either way, these explanations would mean that the leaked set photos make some sense.
All in all, The Witcher season 4 is in a pretty precarious spot at the moment. The recasting of Geralt was already a significant blow to the new season, and now that Hemsworth seems to be recreating scenes Cavill already did, the alarm bells are ringing. However, there is a good chance that these photos have a reason behind them, and hopefully, The Witcher season 4 will be better than it seems. At the very least, the pictures have now made it clear that Liam Hemsworth can look exactly like the Witcher himself.