The sad fate of any big-budget, high fantasy series is to be compared, however unfavourably, to Game of Thrones. It is as inevitable as any mob drama facing The Sopranos comparisons, or any animated sitcom being held up against The Simpsons. But for The Witcher, the comparison has been brutal. Not only has it failed to achieve the mainstream cut-through of its Westerosi cousin, but it has always been a different beast entirely. This, after all, is an unhinged world of magic and monsters and madness, not a political allegory for medieval Britain. And at the heart of all that was Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia.
“Just as Viggo Mortensen gave his face to Aragorn,” Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski, font of the show’s lore, is reported to have said, “so Henry gave his to Geralt and it shall be forever so.” That, however, was not the opinion held by the bods at Netflix HQ, who announced in October last year that the third season of The Witcher, which concludes this week, will be Cavill’s last. From its fourth instalment onwards, the role will be played by Australian actor, and Thor’s little brother, Liam Hemsworth. This is not a minor tweak to the show, but a change to its DNA that would make Dr Jeckyll think twice.
