Doug Cockle, the actor who originally played Geralt in CD Projekt Red's RPG series, says he's sad to see Henry Cavill leave the character behind in the Netflix show, even though he's excited for what Liam Hemsworth can bring to the series.
"I think it's really sad to see Henry go, because I really liked his performance, and I liked the guy as well," Cockle told GamesRadar+ during an interview at EGX/MCM Comic-Con. "He invited me to the London premiere of the show, and we met there, and he's a lovely, lovely bloke. He loves the Witcher world so much. I was really sad to hear that he was leaving for whatever reason that was. So it's sad to see Henry go."
But Cockle adds that he's "a big believer in seeing what people bring to the table. Liam's a good actor, and I'm really excited to see what his Geralt looks and sounds and behaves like. And you know, it'll be different. It'll be different from mine, it'll be different from Henry's, it'll be different from Peter Kenny, who voices Geralt in the audiobook series. And I'm just really excited to see what he does."
So why is Henry Cavill leaving The Witcher? That's a matter of a whole lot of speculation in the fandom, egged on by rumors that he and the producers of the Netflix series weren't seeing eye to eye on Geralt's role in the show. "As with the greatest of literary characters," Cavill himself said when the casting news was revealed. "I pass the torch with reverence for the time spent embodying Geralt and enthusiasm to see Liam's take on this most fascinating and nuanced of men."
Hemsworth officially takes over for Cavill with The Witcher season 4, which began production earlier this year. On the gaming side, there are several Witcher projects among the slate of upcoming CD Projekt Red games, but whether Cockle returns for The Witcher 4 or any other project remains to be seen. Cockle has a bit of inside info on The Witcher 4, at least, and for now is set to voice Geralt one more time in the Netflix spin-off Sirens of the Deep.
