We're coming up on what's sure to be a marquee year for Netflix's fantasy show The Witcher. Following a strong third season, The Witcher underwent some major changes behind the scenes as lead actor Henry Cavill departed the production; when the show returns for season 4, it'll be The Hunger Games star Liam Hemsworth underneath the white wig. This has been particularly challenging to contemplate for a lot of fans because Cavill's performance as Geralt has been one of the most widely praised aspects of the series. Yes, The Witcher has its adaptation woes, but one thing most people seemed to be able to agree on was that Cavill was perfect as Geralt of Rivia.
That's a hard act to follow up no matter how you slice it. And if there's anybody that might be particularly aware of that, it's Doug Cockle, the voice actor who famously portrayed Geralt in the beloved Witcher video games by CD Projekt Red. Cockle's growling interpretation of the witcher is so well-loved that even Cavill himself took notes, making sure he was developing his own version of Geralt without leaning too hard on the nuances of Cockle's performance.
Next February, Cockle will once more play Geralt of Rivia in a Netflix animated film, titled The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep. So now that he's joining the Netflix franchise, how does he feel about the fact that the live-action Geralt is undergoing this sort of recast?
"I think it's really sad to see Henry go, because I really liked his performance, and I liked the guy as well," Cockle told GamesRadar+ at EGX/MCM Comic-Con. "He invited me to the London premiere of the show, and we met there, and he's a lovely, lovely bloke. He loves the Witcher world so much. I was really sad to hear that he was leaving for whatever reason that was. So it's sad to see Henry go."
Despite being torn up over Cavill's exit, Cockle wasn't totally down in the dumps about the recast. He's also looking forward to watching Hemsworth's take on Geralt as well. Cockle explained that he's "a big believer in seeing what people bring to the table." After all, as famous as his interpretation of Geralt is, Cockle is far from the only person to play the witcher; there have been audiobook narrators, actors in Polish film adaptations, and more.
"Liam's a good actor, and I'm really excited to see what his Geralt looks and sounds and behaves like," Cockle continued. "And you know, it'll be different. It'll be different from mine, it'll be different from Henry's, it'll be different from Peter Kenny, who voices Geralt in the audiobook series. And I'm just really excited to see what he does."
I'm right there with you, Doug. There was a time when fans were skeptical about Cavill playing Geralt — was he too pretty to play the scarred White Wolf onscreen? Could someone famous for playing Superman muster the tortured gravitas needed for this role? — but those concerns vanished the second we got a chance to actually watch him work. Who knows, maybe we'll have a similar reaction with Hemsworth.
And it is fitting that this recast is happening now, at this particular juncture in the story. In the final episodes of The Witcher season 3, Geralt suffered a devastating defeat at the hands of the sorcerer Vilgefortz of Roggeveen. This left Geralt with terrible wounds which plague him throughout the entire rest of the book series by Andrzej Sapkowski. In the following novels, Geralt sets out on a different adventure, searching for his adoptive daughter Ciri across the Continent as the war between Nilfgaard and the Northern Kingdoms escalates. Without going too deep into spoilers, the final Witcher book adds in a whole lot of weird, meta multiverse elements that could play right into the idea that Geralt of Rivia looks a bit different in season 4.
But let's not get ahead of ourselves. The next time we see Geralt of Rivia on screen it'll be Doug Cockle playing him in The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep. That animated movie premieres on February 11, 2025. As for the mothership show, it just wrapped filming on season 4 last week, so it'll be along some time after.
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