Despite multiple reassurances that Henry Cavill would definitely not be returning to play Geralt of Rivia in the fourth season of Netflix's The Witcher, I hadn't actually come to terms with it until just now: the first look at Season 4 is here, and Liam Hemsworth has officially taken the reins.
You can take a peek at the one-minute teaser below. Just be warned that it's essentially one shot of Hemsworth doing his best Cavill and about 30 seconds of le epic music trailing off into the Netflix Tudum.
The streamer hasn't exactly revealed how or if the show will address the actor switcheroo, but we do get a longline for Season 4, at least:
After the shocking, Continent-altering events that close out season three, the new season follows Geralt, Yennefer, and Ciri who are faced with traversing the war-ravaged Continent and its many demons apart from each other. If they can embrace and lead the groups of misfits they find themselves in, they have a chance of surviving the baptism of fire and finding one another again.
In other words, Hemsworth has huge shoes to fill! Credit where credit is due.
Basically everyone besides Cavill will be returning — including Anya Chalotra (Yennefer of Vengerberg), Freya Allan (Princess Cirilla of Cintra) and fan-favourite Joey Batey (Jaskier). This cast should theoretically carry The Witcher through to its finale in Season 5.
Until we hear more, check out the Hemsworth clip below.
Plenty of speculation and rumours concerning Cavill's exit have circled since it was announced. Director Marc Jobst claimed that it was related to Cavill's insistence on doing his own stunts, while some speculate that Cavill and production had creative disagreements or that there were scheduling conflicts with the actor's now-canned role as Superman. Neither Cavill nor Netflix have confirmed any theory.