Old School. Biblically Independent.
By Tori Preston | TV | November 3, 2025
Like a rubbernecker eyeing a crash on the side of the highway, I’ll admit there was no way I wouldn’t be tuning in to the latest season of Netflix’s The Witcher. Sure, I like the show - and the novels, and the video games - but mostly I wanted to see how that much-publicized recasting worked out for them. Back in 2022, when it was announced that Henry Cavill would be stepping out of Geralt’s soaking tub to be replaced by Liam Hemsworth, our own Nate Parker called the decision an “obvious downgrade.” As hard as it was to imagine Cavill no longer playing the Butcher of Blaviken, it was even harder to picture Hemsworth taking up that mantle himself.
The public pessimism was so overwhelming that Hemsworth quit the internet for a year rather than face that backlash, and yet here we are, three years later. The Witcher season four has premiered, and production for the fifth and final season is underway. Hemsworth is Geralt, and you know what? It works, for two clear reasons.
Hemsworth Has Video Game Geralt Vibes
I don’t want to say that Hemsworth is right for the part for all the wrong reasons, because that isn’t quite it. However, after watching Hemsworth play Geralt for a season, I found myself thinking that Cavill may have actually been wrong for the part for all the right reasons. Cavill’s performance leaned so hard on the character’s stoicism that it frequently collapsed into brooding. That may play well in a Netflix drama, sure, but watching Hemsworth’s Geralt reminded me of the version of the character I have in my head: video game Geralt. Specifically, “The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt” Geralt. Sure, Hemsworth is younger and only half as grizzled as his button-mashable counterpart, but his “Go Girl, Give Us Nothing” emotional pitch is spot on!
I know that sounds like an insult, but stick with me. In the games, Geralt’s stoicism reads as unflappable. Subdued and deadpan, without the brooding. It’s partly the nature of the character, and partly the limited expressions of video game animation circa-2015 (or ever). The result is that, downgrade or no, Hemsworth’s turn as the White Wolf is immediately and comfortably familiar, like a playable character waiting around for you to hit the X button. He’s no match for Cavill’s arms, and his grunted “hmms” lack Cavill’s gravitas, but the recasting wasn’t as jarring as I was anticipating. At times, Hemsworth even brought an easy lightness to Geralt that I doubt Cavill would have mustered.
Geralt Isn’t That Important Anymore
The other thing that eased Hemsworth’s transition is the fact that, at this point in The Witcher’s run, Geralt’s not carrying the entire story on his (suitably broad) shoulders anymore. Yennefer (Anya Chalotra) and Ciri (Freya Allan) are splitting the main character duties, and though all three share equal screentime, the weight of their storylines differs dramatically. While Geralt is busy limping toward Nilfgaard to rescue Ciri from the clutches of her father/ fiancé Emhyr, Yennefer is rounding up mages to take down the evil wizard Vilgefortz, who has his own plans for Ciri. What neither Geralt nor Yennefer realize is that Ciri isn’t in Nilfgaard at all. After relinquishing her magic, Ciri adopted the name “Falka” and joined a band of bandits called The Rats. Yen’s storyline has the bulk of the action, while Ciri’s is largely about her finding herself after leaving behind the various threads of her destiny as a princess and magician. As for Geralt, he mostly bros down with his travelling band of misfits. It’s the sort of wheel-spinning storyline that helps Geralt fade into the background of the season, if not the scene, and that’s fine!
Heck, one could argue that Geralt isn’t even the Witcher of the title anymore. That honor belongs to Ciri, but saying that on these interwebs is asking for trouble. Just look at the reactions to that trailer for “The Witcher 4.” But anyway!
There are also a few juicy new faces to offer a distraction from the new face this season. Laurence Fishburne joins Geralt as the mysterious vampire Emiel Regis, a monster even our favorite monster hunter spares because he no longer drinks human blood. Sharlto Copley pops up as a new villain, the bounty hunter Leo Bonhart, who gets a kick out of killing Witchers for sport and has his eyes set on Falka. They would be welcome additions to any show at any time, but it’s hard not to think they arrive at this show at the perfect time. You certainly can’t say The Witcher is lacking in star power if Morpheus is around, right?
The Witcher is a flawed show, but it’s flawed in the same ways it always was. Though the character choices have improved, the story remains almost unwieldly and difficult to follow. Hemsworth can’t fix those problems, but he doesn’t add to them either. He’s a neutral presence, but considering the abysmal expectations of the fan base around his casting, “neutral” is honestly an impressive feat for his first outing. Go girl, give us nothing!
