The passage of the swords and the medallion from Henry Cavill's Geralt of Rivia to that of Liam Hemsworth in season 4 of the series The Witcher will not, a priori, fall like a white hair in the soup.
Netflix plans to use an element from The Witcher books from which the series is inspired in this sense. In any case, this is what we can glean from a video highlighting the actors as they read their score around a table.
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The new Geralt of Rivia from The Witcher series justified by the lore
In most cases, changing actors for a given role isn't really justified, with showrunners relying on suspension of disbelief. For season 4 of The Witcher series, the transition from Henry Cavill's Geralt of Rivia to that of Liam Hemsworth will, however, have a justification consistent with the books from which it is adapted. We were indeed able to see different members of the cast in a recent video.
Among these was Serrana Su-Ling Bliss. The young girl will play Nimue, otherwise known under the pseudonym of the Lady of the Lake. As a reminder, in The Witcher books it is about a witch who maintains a certain fascination with the legend of Geralt of Rivia and Ciri. In the latest novels, it is through his eyes that we retrace the adventures of the witcher and his adopted daughter, several years later. Who says legend therefore says different versions. It is therefore through this means that Netflix will justify the new face of Geralt in season 4.
A faithful adaptation on a case-by-case basis
However, it is a young version of Nimue that we will meet at the start of the next season of The Witcher series. To justify his passion for Geralt and his friends, this will go through another character from the books: Stribog. This will be played by Clive Russell (the Catfish in Game of Thrones). He is a traveling storyteller, who will be passing through Nimue's native village. It is through her stories that the future Lady of the Lake will develop her fascination with the witcher and his adventures.
In any case, this is a more or less clever and faithful to the books way of justifying this major change of actor. It now remains to be seen whether all of the upcoming final seasons 4 and 5 of The Witcher series will also be. Let us remember that it was the sometimes curious way of adapting the books that sowed discord between Henry Cavill and the showrunners, and therefore led to his departure. Doug Cockle, the voice of Geralt in the games, also shared the actor's opinion. Will season 4 of the Netflix series manage to pick up the pieces? We will normally know this at the end of 2024 or the beginning of 2025.
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