The Witcher showrunner says Geralt recasting will "bring new energy" to the show

The news that Henry Cavill is leaving The Witcher after the upcoming season 3 sent ripples through the internet when it was first announced. Netflix confirmed that the actor will be hanging up his sword and The Hunger Games' Liam Hemsworth will replace him as Geralt of Rivia.

During a conversation with The Witcher showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich in anticipation of the upcoming prequel series The Witcher: Blood Origin, GamesRadar+ asked about the recasting and what’s next for the series. "I'm so excited for viewers," she says of the recasting. "I think that it's just a new chapter for us. And I think new chapters bring new energy and that people will find things to love. So yeah, personally, I'm really excited."

Joey Batey, who plays Jaskier in Blood Origin and the main Witcher series, was also on hand to answer our questions about the recasting and the actor revealed that he’s already spoken with Hemsworth.

"I'm obviously gonna miss Henry a huge amount," Batey tells us. "Henry and I are very, very good pals and he has been the stalwart of the show, the gravity of the show, and the driving force of the show for four years now.

"But Liam, I've already spoken to him a little bit. He is throwing himself into the deep end of this mythos and this canon with such power and grace and aplomb that I'm really excited to work with him and to see the kind of interpretation that he's going to bring together. I think it's exciting."

Hissrich is an executive producer on Blood Origin alongside showrunner Declan de Barra. The series is set some thousands of years before the events of the main show and follows a group of seven outcasts brought together under mysterious circumstances. Read our deep dive into the prequel with the cast and crew of The Witcher: Blood Origin here.

The Witcher: Blood Origin arrives on Netflix on Christmas Day, while The Witcher season 3 will be released in summer of 2023.