It turns out that Liam Hemsworth was almost cast as The Witcher back in 2018

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Hemsworth auditioned for the role of Geralt when it was first being cast and was reportedly close to getting the job.

Liam Hemsworth

Liam Hemsworth, who will play Geralt in The Witcher's fourth season.

 (Image credit: Valerie Macon/AFP via Getty Images)

Look, we're all sad that Henry Cavill won't be Geralt anymore. And I think a lot of us also harbor doubts that his replacement on Netflix's hit fantasy series, Liam Hemsworth, is up to the task of filling the role. 

He's probably a very nice guy but he seems more like a Lambert type: younger, smaller, kind of a headache, more prone to getting himself into avoidable trouble that he's not quite up to handling. A little brother figure, I suppose, although that could just be preconceived notions speaking. Hemsworth is of course an actual little brother—to Thor actor Chris Hemsworth, who is without doubt a man of Cavillian stature.

That said, Hemsworth hasn't landed the role just because he happened to be standing nearby when Henry quit. According to Witcher fan site Redanian Intelligence, he actually auditioned for the job in 2018, and while the gig ultimately went to Cavill, Hemsworth was one of the frontrunners.

In fact, Hemsworth made such a positive impression that when it came time to find a replacement Geralt, Netflix reportedly did not hold a full casting process for the role but instead just picked him as the new Geralt.

I won't lie, I still have a very hard time envisioning this guy:

(Image credit: VALERIE MACON (Getty Images))

As this guy:

(Image credit: Netflix)

But then again, I said the same thing about this guy:

(Image credit: Netflix)

And it all worked out very well in the end. So for now, I'm feeling a little more optimistic about Hemsworth's casting, and I'll definitely be sticking around to watch The Witcher season 4—although if Henry changes his mind somewhere between now and then, that'd be fine too.

Some fans are already sharing mockups of Hemsworth in the Geralt role, and while it's completely speculative, it's not a terrible look. Maybe a little more Thor-like than I'd prefer, but there's probably not much to be done about that. 

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Before any of that, though, we've got The Witcher season 3, which will feature Cavill in the lead role. It's expected to release sometime in summer 2023.

Andy Chalk
Andy Chalk
US News Lead

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.