But, it appears that Cavill’s fans will stop at nothing to stop this from happening. Over a week after Netflix confirmed that Liam Hemsworth will come in to replace Cavill as Geralt of Rivia starting in Season 4, several hundreds of thousands of fans have joined the petition to keep Cavill and replace the writers instead. As of the time of writing, nearly 200,000 fans have joined the petition. Cavill never fully explained his departure from Netflix’s The Witcher. It’s easy to explain his absence by joining the DC Universe full-time, but Cavill is passionate enough about both franchises to find a way to juggle both. The prevailing theory is that Cavill no longer agreed with the direction of the show. It’s an open secret that the people behind the scenes aren’t the biggest fans of Andrzej Sapkowski’s novels. After butting heads with the showrunners and writers, Cavill could’ve just given up and decided to take his talents elsewhere. Netflix shouldn’t underestimate the power of fan petitions, especially if the number keeps on growing. 200,000 fans who want to see Cavill as Geralt of Rivia is no joke. If Netflix intends to invest in The Witcher franchise in the long term, it is in its best interest to listen to what people want. Cavill wasn’t met with open arms when he first appeared as Geralt of Rivia but he embraced the role. More importantly, he speaks the “language” of the core demographic of the show. Cavill is a geek trapped in a Greek god’s body. Cavill’s built desktops in front of fans and have made upgrades to his set-up based on decisions made only by people in the know, if you get what we mean. From interviews where Cavill raves about doing stuff that the casual audience can’t relate to and the way he’s embraced the role to become synonymous with Geralt of Rivia, he is irreplaceable as the White Wolf, perhaps much more so than Superman. Only time will tell if the fans will succeed in making their voices heard. Until then, we can look forward to watching The Witcher: Blood Origin on December 25, a prequel series that takes place thousands of years before the show’s events.
