I suppose it’s possible to have a fantasy show where the characters just kinda sit around, talk, and magic at each other all day, but in general, there’s gonna come a time when they have to fight an assortment of adversaries and evil-doers. Such is the case on The Witcher, which returned to those with a Netflix subscription for the first part of Season 3 near the end of June, and will wrap this installment on July 27. It will also mark the end of Henry Cavill’s time on the series, and a recent description of him doing stunts for the drama does make me get why he’d want to quit.
How Did Henry Cavill Prepare For The Witcher’s Shaerrawedd Battle In Season 3?
Even if you don’t know much about the hit fantasy (which has seen its viewership lag in the third season with news of Cavill’s impending exit) you probably understand that action-packed battles are a large part of the equation on the Continent, especially when it comes to Geralt, Ciri, and Yennefer’s adventures. Across the first two seasons, Cavill helped bring some of Geralt’s most intense fights to live action, and he did the same in Season 3.
When speaking with Entertainment Weekly about the star’s preparation for Season 3, Vol. 1’s big Shaerrawedd battle, stunt coordinator/second unit director, Wolfgang Stegemann, revealed just how much hard work Cavill put into getting ready for that one-shot fight. First of all, he had to rehearse the whole fight, all the way through, over 90 times, Stegemann estimated, and added:
It takes probably a good three weeks to start choreographing. Henry is with us all the time, choreographing the scene and running it with the stunt team. It's probably a good three weeks, four weeks in total. And then we adapt the whole scene to the actual set on location…Then Henry, because he's so skilled, knows exactly when he is going in that direction and has this guy approaching, he already starts thinking, 'What am I doing when this other guy comes from that side?' This is how we start building the choreography.
Well, I cannot tell a lie. He lost me at doing the same, clearly very hard thing, more than 90 times! In just a month! Now, I’m sure I've done plenty of things that much, and maybe even within a four week period, but even if, say, you exercise really hard daily, you’re still not gonna do a vigorous workout over 90 times in a month. A normal person might get to 60!
Cavill’s fight prep basically added two daily workouts to his regimen, or three, if you count the mental gymnastics involved in helping to plan the whole thing and remembering who’s where at specific times, how you kill them, and how you attack the next person. He also mentioned that “the camera is living in the fight,” so they eventually had to do everything they rehearsed with someone sorta in the middle of it so that it could be filmed as though “the audience feels involved [in the scene],” which obviously adds to the degree of difficulty.
Hell, I’m ready to quit The Witcher just thinking about it and I’m nowhere near being on the damn show!
In all seriousness, one of the things that drew fans to the series is how passionate Cavill was about bringing the world of the books to life as a fan of those stories himself, and it has always seemed like he really loves doing his own stunts. He’s even confirmed in the past that “the character involves all of that” when it comes to Geralt's battles and, likely, any role that involves stunt work. Stegemann continued:
Henry is super precise and his passion is just outstanding. I love it so much because he wants to have it perfect…I am so proud of Henry that he runs this fight in many high-intensity takes. He's putting his all in, and completely dedicated his whole life.
And, that’s why fans are going to miss watching his White Wolf mow down baddies, parent Ciri, and romance Yen. At least Cavill can say he gave Geralt his all and viewers enjoyed watching him do it.
