"I wonder how they’re going to do it."
Anya Chalotra has given her opinion on Liam Hemsworth replacing Henry Cavill in The Witcher.
In 2022, it was announced that Henry, who received praise for his portrayal of main character Geralt of Rivia in the Netflix series, would be leaving after the third season.
Liam Hemsworth will take up the role in the fourth season.
As the third season premieres on June 29, 2023, Anya Chalotra gave her thoughts about the casting choice.
Anya, who plays Yennefer of Vengerberg, revealed that the cast did not know about Henry’s exit “until after we’d filmed season three”.
She said: “And it’s always emotional filming at the end of any season – you know, that last scene you do with the people that you’ve worked with for eight months.
“It’s always like, ‘Aw,’ but you live in that moment. And we didn’t know till post-filming.”
Anya said the entire cast felt the loss of Henry’s exit from the show.
She continued: “He’s been with us since day one.
“We’ve been through a lot together. It’s been five years of not only this world that we have in The Witcher, but Covid – all these things that we’ve gone through together, and it’s a strong bond.
“But with anything we do it comes to an end. Henry is moving on from this, and that’s really exciting.
“We’ve had a wonderful five years with him, and I’m excited for new energy to come in as well.”
Speaking about Liam Hemsworth’s casting, Anya said:
“Liam will be brilliant, I’m sure. I haven’t spoken to him yet – well, I have spoken to him but I haven’t met him. So yeah, I’m excited for that.”
This has prompted intrigue as Anya explained:
“I wonder how they’re going to do it.
“I haven’t read anything, so I really do wonder how they’re going to bring this character into the audience’s life who have been with us for five years. I’m excited; it’s all unknown.”
She is excited to see Liam’s portrayal as Geralt.
“We haven’t had a chemistry test. I wasn’t part of that process [of his casting].
“But I’m very excited to see what his Geralt is. And only then will we realise what dynamics we have as a group.”
Despite Henry’s exit, Anya Chalotra is not going anywhere.
She told Variety:
“There are so many situations Yennefer hasn’t been in yet.”
“And it’s only until I experience that with the character that I know where she would go, how she chooses to get out of a certain situation or get into one.”
This comes after The Witcher‘s executive producer Steve Gaub also addressed Henry Cavill’s replacement.
He said: “I think, holistically, Henry gave us an incredible three seasons of Geralt but there’s been so many franchises that have had really strong title characters and eventually, for whatever reason, personal decision or, or just the length of time frame, the title character changes actors.
“But you always have the strength of the property to lean into and we’re trusting that the world of The Witcher, the continent, the IP (intellectual property) itself is what is drawing a lot of fans.”
He said that the team is “really excited about what Liam can give us as a Geralt, much like there’s been different James Bonds, different Doctor Whos, different Spider-Mans”.
He added: “We’re now one of those properties and we aim to serve the property right and continue on with a really strong Geralt.”
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