When The Witcher returns to Netflix at the end of October for the fourth season of the show, it will look a little different as Henry Cavill will no longer appear as Geralt of Rivia, instead passing the wolf medallion over to Liam Hemsworth. While we have seen trailers and teasers that show off Hemsworth's White Wolf, the question is still how the character will change with a new lead under the makeup and clothes.
In a recent Netflix Tudum blog post, The Witcher showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich explained how Hemsworth's Geralt differs from the one Cavill portrayed.
"His voice, his tone is slightly different, and he does have a little bit more humor. Liam loves to curse, and we've brought cursing back."
Producer Tomasz Bagiński then also talked about the change and how "our Geralt smiles a bit more — maybe he feels a little more emotional, maybe he's a little more emotional than before."
Beyond this, there will be a few appearance changes (aside from the actor of course), with Hissrich emphasising: "One of the things that we realized is that Geralt didn't carry a lot of the scars that the character is known by. So we made a definitive decision at the beginning of the season to start Liam with a scar across his face, and we even have an explanation of why it suddenly appears between two seasons."
Similarly, there are some clothing tweaks with costume designer Lucinda Wright explaining: "I got rid of any buckles or any straps. The Geralt belt was always around the waist. I dropped it down like a holster ... like a Western."
Hemsworth commented on becoming Geralt, adding: "Any day I put on the actual body armor, and I'm in proper Witcher mode, I feel like it forces you to walk a little differently and hold your head a little higher. When I come to set, and I've got my costume on ...that's when I really feel immersed in this character and I feel like I'm in the body of another character."
For any in doubt about Hemsworth taking over Geralt duties, Hissrich closes with: "People think of Geralt, and now they have specific images in their mind. Within about 45 seconds, I don't think you really think about it much more. Liam owns this character."
Are you excited for The Witcher's return on October 30?