Fans upset about Henry Cavill’s departure from Netflix’s The Witcher are making their frustrations known through a viral petition that’s now reached over 200,000 signatures. The Change.org petition, created by user Stef Ma, demands that Netflix bring Henry Cavill back as Geralt of Rivia, and instead replace the show’s writers.
Since it was announced that Henry Cavill would be leaving The Witcher after its upcoming third season, fans began speculating the reasoning behind this major casting change.
Knowing Cavill is a huge fan of the show’s source material, Andrzej Sapkowski’s book series of the same name, many have come to believe the actor left the show over creative disputes with the show’s writers. It’s been reported recently that the show’s writers openly disregarded Sapkowski’s work, leading to the show’s significant deviation from the books.
One user who signed the petition wrote, “Henry Cavill fought for the series while the writers openly mocked the source material. They should be the ones to go, not our Geralt of Rivia.” Another commented, “If you’re going to write a show and not like the source material, you should probably just NOT WRITE THE SHOW.”
Cavill has mentioned numerous times during the show’s press junkets that he advocated for a book-accurate portrayal of Geralt. Meanwhile, recent reports from former producer Beau DeMayo claim The Witcher‘s writers “disliked” and “openly mocked” the show’s source material.
As of right now, the fan petition has garnered over 207,000 signatures in support. Neither Cavill nor Netflix have commented further on the major casting change since the initial news broke. Additionally, neither of them has addressed the fan petition.
Stay up-to-date on all things The Witcher, including our coverage of the show’s prequel series, The Witcher: Blood Origin.