The Witcher writer defends scripts and has cryptic response to Henry Cavill's recasting

(Image credit: Netflix)

The Witcher season 3 volume 2 marks the end of the road for Henry Cavill’s Geralt ahead of his imminent replacement with Liam Hemsworth. Since the news was announced last year, the actor has never explicitly said why he was leaving the show.

Of course, that hasn’t stopped speculation (see our handy breakdown of all of the rumors here) that it was allegedly to do with the show not adhering to Andrzej Sapkowski’s source material as religiously as Cavill had wanted. Now one of the writers on the series has defended the show’s fidelity to the books on Twitter, as well as teasing that there’s more going on behind-the-scenes than fans are aware of.

"For those who claim that we don’t read/respect the books – the writers' draft of The Witcher 306 ABSOLUTELY began with Dykstra holding Geralt at knife point as he pissed into a plant. I have the pages to prove it!" Javier Grillo-Marxuach, who is also an executive producer on the show, tweeted on July 28, seemingly referencing one of the odder moments in Sapkowski’s novels.

However, perhaps his most interesting comment came after another fan suggested that some of the pushback came from, "rumors & flat out lies from casting changes of Geralt". Grillo-Marxuach addressed this with a cryptic response, tweeting back: "Also, those of us who know what really went down behind the scenes know what really went down behind the scenes. I stand behind the work, and my boss, 100%."

While he didn’t elaborate any more on what exactly went on, it’s certainly an intriguing response from the writer. Given Cavill has still not given any interviews post his exit, it is beginning to seem like we might never know exactly what happened behind the scenes. At the very least, though, it’s a good reminder there are always several sides to every story.

I’m the Deputy Entertainment Editor here at GamesRadar+, covering TV and film for the Total Film and SFX sections online. I previously worked as a Senior Showbiz Reporter and SEO TV reporter at Express Online for three years. I've also written for The Resident magazines and Amateur Photographer, before specializing in entertainment.