Netflix Desperately Reminding People Henry Cavill Is In The Witcher Season 3
It has long been reported that Henry Cavill, who played Superman in the soon-to-be-defunct DC Universe, was leaving Netflix’s fantasy show The Witcher. However, even though Liam Hemsworth is set to replace Cavill to play Geralt of Rivia in Season 4, Cavill is still playing the character in Season 3. The Witcher’s official Netflix account has sent out a tweet announcing this fact by showing it projected all over the world — and honestly, the whole thing reeks of desperation.
It appears that Netflix knows Henry Cavill‘s presence in The Witcher was one of the show’s biggest draws. The streaming giant also seems to believe (rightly or wrongly) that most people believe Cavill’s much-advertised departure meant that he has already been replaced in the newly-released season.
However, by broadcasting an unsubtle reminder that Cavill is still on board for Season 3, it seems like Netflix is desperately looking to attract the attention of the viewers who tuned in for Season 1 and Season 2.
Netflix has launched a marketing campaign including projecting signs in the UK announcing, “Yes. He’s still Geralt in Season 3.”
While there hasn’t been much official information about why Henry Cavill and Netflix parted ways, rumor has it that the actor was unhappy with how much the show strayed from the original series of fantasy novels and the popular game series that they spawned.
Cavill reportedly loved the series so much that he annoyed showrunner Lauren Schmidt until she gave him the role. The two reportedly clashed over the handling of the series’ story up until Cavill decided to leave the series behind.
While none of this has been officially confirmed, the Henry Cavill-focused reminder sent out by Netflix seems to support these reports. The tweet strongly implies that either Netflix didn’t want Henry Cavill to leave, or that the producers regret his departure.
Either way, it seems likely that the number of people watching The Witcher season 3 isn’t as high as Netflix hoped, and they believe that at least part of the reason for this can be blamed on Cavill’s departure.
The tweet strongly implies that either Netflix didn’t want Henry Cavill to leave, or that the producers regret his departure.
Fans have taken to Twitter and the Rotten Tomatoes user reviews to vent their dissatisfaction about Netflix’s decisions, with many people sharing Cavill’s reported beliefs that departing from the source material was a bad move.
As a result, Rotten Tomatoes’ audience score for season 3 is at a low 44%, despite the high 84% score that critics have given the season. fans have also voiced concerns about where the show will go in its future seasons.
Cavill’s Replacement, Liam Hemsworth
The tweet also shows that Netflix doesn’t have much faith in The Hunger Games star Liam Hemsworth’s ability to fill Henry Cavill’s shoes. If Cavill’s presence is being promoted as one of the reasons to watch season 3, then it’s not hard to infer that Cavill’s absence is a reason to not watch season 4.
This almost certainly was not the tweet’s intended message, but it’s hard not to read it that way.
It remains to be seen how well Liam Hemsworth will do playing the part of Geralt of Rivia, but with missteps like this, it might not matter. Netflix has set itself up to fail when season 4 eventually releases — assuming it ever does in the current cancelation-heavy streaming environment.
