‘The Witcher’s Behind-the-Scenes Drama Is Overshadowing the Show

The big picture

• The departure of Henry Cavill
  The Sorcerer
  has overshadowed the series, causing online discussion to focus on his replacement and conflict rumors rather than the show itself.
• Cavill left
  The Sorcerer
  after season 3 due to demanding filming schedules and his desire to pursue other projects.
• There are conflicting rumors about the discord between Cavill and
  The Sorcerer
  of the writers, with some fans believing that the writers hate the original books. However, the truth is not clear and focusing on these rumors prevents talking about the show.

From the moment Henry Cavill announced his departure The Sorcerer, we all knew Netflix had an uphill battle ahead of it to keep fans engaged. Any show that loses its main star is bound to suffer some backlash, though The Sorcerer is in an even more delicate position since Cavill helped create the definitive live-action version of Geralt of Rivia. However, when we consider how smoothly the official transition took place for all parties involved, it is sad to realize that the drama behind the scenes of The Sorcerer is overshadowing the series. That's because online discussion has focused on Cavill's replacement Liam Hemsworth and how this is supposedly a proof The Sorcererthe neglect of the writers' room Andrzej Sapkowskithe books of So instead of talking about the show itself, an extremely vocal contingent of fans has just poured their energies into a narrative born of rumors and vague statements, and that's a shame, since Season 3 of The Sorcerer it shows that there is a future for the show beyond Cavill.

Why did Henry Cavill leave 'The Witcher'?

When it comes to the known facts, Cavill left The Sorcerer after Season 3 of his own volition, though the star made no official announcement to explain his reasons. At the time of the announcement, Deadline reported that Cavill had signed a short-term deal for the show's first three seasons and decided not to revise his contract related to appearing in later seasons, as his cast mates According to inside sources, one of the main reasons for Cavill's departure was the demand The SorcererThe shooting times were As the fantasy series is one of Netflix's biggest hits, the streamer spares no expense in production, with a single episode of Season 3 taking up to a month to film. Adding the fact that The Sorcerer is primarily shot in London, far from the homes of many stars, it's safe to say that staying attached to the show is a huge time commitment, and it makes sense that Cavill would choose to walk away from it.

It is worth saying that Cavill's exit The Sorcerer the same week it was announced that the star was reportedly hired by DC to play Superman, another iconic role in his career. As we now know, Cavill had not been officially asked to return to the DC Universe and his appearance black adam was part of it Dwayne JohnsonThe initiative to make his own anti-hero the new narrative center of DC. It was an unfortunate development for Cavill, who still landed on his feet and landed a juicy deal with Amazon Studios to adapt the Warhammer 40,000 universe Still, the timing of all these events indicates that Cavill's replacement will be coming in The Sorcerer it was motivated by the star's desire to pursue different projects.

Do The Witcher writers hate the books?

One of the rules of Hollywood is that any time a TV show or movie tries to adapt a beloved fantasy universe, a portion of the fan base will be upset that the writers changed the source material. While there are good and bad choices when it comes to making changes to the canon, every adaptation must deviate in some way from the source material based on the simple fact that the written word is a device different from a story that comes to life on screen. . Even acclaimed adaptations such as Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy and the Harry Potter film franchises, presented drastic alterations to the original material that do not detract from its prestige.

what he does The SorcererThe particularly unique situation is this many fans dissatisfied with the changes introduced by the show subscribe to the theory that the show's writers hate the original book series. Also, many rumors started circulating about how Cavill was constantly struggling The Sorcerer's to defend Sapkowski's work, given that the actor is a fan of the books. But did Cavill have frequent conflicts? The Sorcerer's writers and directors about the show's canon changes? The fact is, we don't know for sure.

Cavill has given dozens of interviews in which he declares his love for the franchise as a reader and gamer. So, there's no doubt that the star is a fan The Sorcerer universe Still, there hasn't been a single statement from Cavill about the direct conflict during filming. And because Cavill is very professional in his interactions with the press, some fans prefer to believe that he has been hiding his problems and use other people's statements to support the narrative of Cavill's dissatisfaction.

The most quoted person during these discussions is the writer Beau DeMayowho worked on two episodes of The Sorcerer and the spin-off animated film The Wolf's Nightmare. According to DeMayo, during his experience in the writers' room, some of his colleagues “disliked the books and games (they even actively mocked the source material)”. It's an anecdote that has been discarded by the showrunner Lauren Schmidt-Hissrich multiple times For example, during our visit set by The Sorcerer In Season 3, Schmidt-Hissrich spoke at length about what Sapkowski is like Time of contempt is his favorite book in the series. So who is telling the truth? Maybe both, maybe neither. Different people can have their own view of what is disrespectful to canon, and that's absolutely fine. In the end, however, we have a cacophony of conflicting voices that does not clarify the picture. On the contrary, there is so much evidence The Sorcerer the writers hating the source material since Cavill was supposedly a difficult actor to work with.

More fuel for the rumors came from vague quotes from Cavill's co-star Anya Chalotra about how certain parties tried to challenge the directors without having a clear idea of ​​the big picture. In Chalotra's words, “…if you're stubborn and insist that a scene has to play out a certain way, nothing will work.” Who is the stubborn person on set? Is it Cavill? Another co-star? Is Chalotra just hypothetical? We don't know, and unless someone decides to address the whole issue publicly, we can't know for sure. Despite the ambiguity, fans have tried to weigh each quote from any cast member as evidence of more significant issues in The Sorcererthe production of when the discussion should revolve around the show itself.

The obsession with “The Witcher behind-the-scenes drama hurts the show.”

The problem of obsessing The SorcererThe drama behind the scenes is that watching the show becomes an exercise in research. Instead of judging the show for what it is, this subset of fans has monopolized the discussion to use specific frames and scenes as evidence that there is a larger problem with the production. This is an unhealthy way to consume television, not to mention those same fans who determine that they won't like the show from now on because of Cavill's departure, regardless of whether the former star of the series is extremely nice to Hemsworth and wish him the best of luck as the new Geralt along with the rest of the cast. It's an approach that creates a toxic environment around something people should be passionate about.

That doesn't mean people can't criticize The Sorcerer and doesn't like their creative choices. We're all aware that the show has a lot of problems, from constantly dividing the party to focusing too much on the continent's political disputes. Constructive criticism can always improve any production, and even just venting your frustrations is a perfectly reasonable thing for fans to do. What's harmful is that some people are so concerned with what goes on behind the scenes that they no longer talk about the show as its own product. There are even reports that Netflix might delay production The Sorcerer Season 4 is being used as proof that the series is doomed, the fans are right and the writers are wrong, despite the fact that these delays occurred in the midst of an unprecedented strike action that brought every major studio to delay movies and TV shows. However, for some, the truth is less important than supporting the narrative they have created The Sorcererthe drama off camera.

It's still too early to tell how Hemsworth will fare in the role of Geralt. Still, Season 3 sets the stage The Sorcerer to succeed in the next season and Netflix has already announced a fifth and final season in the future. But the audience will only enjoy the rest of the story if they start focusing more on the spectacle than the supposed backstage controversies.

The three seasons of The Sorcerer are now available to stream on Netflix in the US

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