Henry Cavill and Liam Hemsworth as Geralt

Before Liam Hemsworth has his chance to play Geralt of Rivia, The Witcher saga on Netflix will see a different actor reprise the character. Henry Cavill announced that he would be stepping down from the fantasy show’s leading role in October 2022 before returning for the critically shunned third season. With both of these factors in mind, The Witcher season 4 will be a pivotal moment for the franchise, either reviving interest or worsening the already divisive reception, with many viewers criticizing the show’s excessive changes to the source material books.

The Witcher season 4 will be out sometime in the back half of 2025, but it’s not the only piece of media for fans to look forward to. Netflix has an animated Witcher film coming out in February of this year, with much of The Witcher show’s cast reprising their roles, including Anya Chalotra and Joey Batey, who play Yennefer and Jaskier, respectively. Despite Liam Hemsworth taking over for Cavill in the live-action saga, he won’t be the one voicing Geralt of Rivia in Sirens of the Deep, creating a strange preface for his performance later this year.

Doug Cockle Voicing Geralt In The Witcher: Sirens Of The Deep Raises The Bar For Liam Hemsworth

The Witcher Video Games’ Voice Actor Returns

the-witcher-4-geralt.jpg Geralt of Rivia (Henry Cavill) glances over his shoulder in The Witcher season 4 First Look Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia holding a sword in The Witcher. The Witcher season 3 part 1 Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia in a tomb Geralt looks stoic in The Witcher Sirens of the Deep the-witcher-4-geralt.jpg Geralt of Rivia (Henry Cavill) glances over his shoulder in The Witcher season 4 First Look Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia holding a sword in The Witcher. The Witcher season 3 part 1 Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia in a tomb Geralt looks stoic in The Witcher Sirens of the Deep

Doug Cockle is an American actor best known for voicing Geralt of Rivia in The Witcher video game franchise, and he’ll be returning to the role for Sirens of the Deep. This means two actors will be playing Geralt in 2025: the one who fans of the franchise have considered the definitive version of the character for years and the unproven newcomer who’s taking the place of a fan favorite. There’s nothing concrete to suggest that Liam Hemsworth won’t be fantastic as Geralt, but he undoubtedly has a viewer base to prove himself to.

Now, to bring in another already beloved performer will only increase the pressure on The Witcher season 4,

The Witcher has proven to have an enormous audience pool who are dedicated to these characters from reading the books and playing the video games. Part of what made Henry Cavill so special as the lead was that he, too, was a fan of the franchise and had enormous respect for that same source material. Any backlash toward Hemsworth isn’t about him but rather the absence of Cavill. Now, to bring in another already beloved performer will only increase the pressure on The Witcher season 4, lest animation take over as the primary medium for this series.

Is The Witcher: Sirens Of The Deep’s Geralt The Same One From The TV Show?

Sirens Of The Deep Is Connected To The TV Series

Geralt unsheathes his sword in The Witcher - Sirens of the Deep promo art

The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep’s story is set in the same universe as the Netflix series, making it even more strange that now three actors will have played this version of Geralt. Aside from the movie’s narrative explicitly occurring during the events of the TV show’s first season, actors from the show are reprising their characters in voice roles, as previously mentioned. This makes it even more bizarre that Liam Hemsworth won’t be making his first The Witcher appearance in the movie.