‘The Witcher’ director suggests Henry Cavill’s exit is due to show’s “demanding” nature

The Witcher director Marc Jobst has shared his thoughts behind Henry Cavill’s exit, implying it could be due to the show’s “demanding” nature.

Jobst, who directed two episodes in the Netflix show’s first season, was asked about the actor’s decision to leave the series following season three.

• READ MORE: Henry Cavill on The Witcher season two: “My career could have been over”

Speaking to ScreenRant, Jobst said: “Look, Henry has done three series, these are demanding shows to make, you know, they are huge. Henry does every single beat of his stunts, he won’t even allow a hand, if you’re doing a close-up of a hand grabbing a sword, it has to be his hand.

“So, normally, what you do is you bring in a double. Henry will go off and shoot some other scene in which he’s in somewhere else, and you get somebody else into the hand, so that you don’t have to bother your number one. Henry won’t do that, and as a result of that, the results are extraordinary,” he added.

“You’re working with an incredible athlete, first and foremost, who works out hours before, and hours after, after you’ve been shooting for 12 hours, and who cares deeply about the work that he does.”

After describing some of the intense fight sequences Cavill significantly contributed towards, he added: “That’s draining on your number one, so after three series, I feel, ‘Ok, he’s brought the show into being, and if he feels like he’s done what he can, I trust him.’

“That focus that he has, that desire to get it right, is a gift to work with, because it elevates everybody to say, ‘Good enough isn’t good enough. It’s got to be fantastic.’”

The reason behind Cavill’s exit has become the subject of much speculation, although the actor himself hasn’t officially addressed the matter.

Liam Hemsworth will replace Cavill as Geralt of Rivia in the show’s fourth season. The final three episodes of season three were released on Netflix last month.

In a four-star review of season two, NME wrote: “While it would be churlish to deny that Cavill solely carries the show on his shoulders, this is far from being a one-man magically enhanced monster hunter show.”

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