LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: It is always the case with adaptations, especially that of books, that fidelity to the original text becomes really significant to the reception of the show or film. Not only the readers but the non-readers as well expect the adaptation to respect what the author had chosen to write. This is particularly crucial in the case of the fantasy genre in which a whole world is invented through solely the author’s imagination.
Netflix’s ‘The Witcher’ is one such fantasy series based on the novels written by Polish author Andrzej Sapowski. The show has so far trudged on a shaky path in terms of accuracy as it is infamous for severely deviating from the original text. Despite that, it does retain some really accurate details to the books and the upcoming Season 3 is known for being almost completely picked up from the second novel in the series ‘Time of Contempt’. It is quite unusual that more than the creators of the show, it was the actor playing the titular White Wolf Henry Cavill behind the book-accurate details.
Henry Cavill - a dedicated Witcher fan
Cavill has been consistently vocal about his interests in the books and the role-play video game based on the series. The actor is known for desperately asking the showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich to cast him in the show as Geralt of Rivia, the protagonist.
The actor has contributed to the series in more ways than just acting Geralt out. He has contributed to rewriting an important Death scene and is known for including unscripted lines and expressions to his actor to play him more accurately. In an interview for Netflix, Cavill shared, “I’m a huge fan of the books and staying loyal to them. It's about making sure that story happens without too much in the way of diversions or side things going on to muddy the waters."
Inaccuracy to the books behind Cavill’s departure
As it was announced last October, Cavill won’t be returning to ‘The Witcher’ after the third season. Among other things, it was the direction the series was taking that led to Cavill making the final move. The second season took things beyond just not sticking to the books and chose to separate from the original plot, including killing off a beloved character, that enraged many fans along with Cavill.
It only makes sense why the actor won’t be making a return to the series. He will be a part of perhaps the most book-accurate third season. The show will be available for streaming on Netflix on June 29, 2023.
