The Witcher Season 3 is currently airing on Netflix. According to critics on Rotten Tomatoes, the third season is pretty good, evident by the 87% rating it has. Its audience score is much lower though, sitting at only 33%. One of the major reasons many fans have soured on the series is Henry Cavill’s departure as protagonist Geralt of Rivia. Season 3 is the final season Cavill will reprise the role. In Season 4 and beyond, the character will be played by Liam Hemsworth.
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There’s no denying that after three seasons Cavill is the best part of the show. Not only is Cavill a terrific actor, but he’s an absolutely massive fan of The Witcher an IP. In fact, he’s an expert on it, and this bleeds through in his performance. In contrast, many have accused the various writers on the show, and the those in charge of its production, of either not being familiar with the source material or taking way too much creative liberty with it. And to be fair, the show does deviate from the source material often, especially in Season 3.
To this end, it seems someone on the Netflix marketing team understands Cavill is a large part of the appeal of the show as evident by a new marketing campaign for the third season that focuses on reminding everyone that Cavill hasn’t left yet.
Of course, this is a viable approach to promote Season 3, however, it does seemingly create a bit of an awkward situation for Season 4 and beyond, and for Liam Hemsworth. Marketing the third season as “it’s still got Henry Cavill,” aka it doesn’t star Liam Hemsworth yet, may be effective, but it does seemingly send an odd message to Hemsworth.
Responding to the tweet, one fan noted the ad is “so disrespectful,” and that Hemsworth should quit. Meanwhile, another fan called the ad “tone deaf” and claims it shows “zero respect” for Hemsworth. Of course, at the end of the day, almost certainly nothing will come of this, but there’s no denying it’s awkward optically. Luckily for the show, while many have picked up on this, most are still distracted by the fact that Cavill is leaving in the first place.
As always, feel free to weigh in with your thoughts on the situation? What do you make of this new ad for The Witcher Season 3? Is it disrespectful to Liam Hemsworth or are fans making a mountain out of an ant hill?
(Liam Hemsworth photo by Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic)
