“The Witcher” season 3 was an ambitious and mostly satisfying foray into the world originally created by author of the “Witcher” books, Andrzej Sapkowski. But as /Film’s Debopriyaa Dutta wrote in her review, while the Netflix series had previously tried its best to preserve the essence of Sapkowski’s source material, “the results have been middling, with much left to be desired.” Thankfully, the latest two-part season went some way toward remedying this issue, but it seems that wasn’t enough for star Henry Cavill, whose abrupt exit from the series is still somewhat of a mystery.

The former Superman actor surprised everyone when he announced in 2022 that he would no longer be playing Geralt of Rivia after the show’s third season. At the same time, Cavill confirmed that Liam Hemsworth would be taking his spot, but many questions remained. Did Cavill’s exit have something to do with his and Dwayne Johnson’s bizarre efforts to remain in the now-defunct DC Extended Universe? Was Cavill’s agent advising him to leave Netflix in some misguided attempt to reinforce the idea that he was a movie star and therefore too big for a streaming show? Why, when Cavill has made no secret of his own passion for “The Witcher” as a property, would he abandon the show at a time when it seemed as though it could continue for some time?

While the reasons for Cavill’s “Witcher” exit are likely numerous, one element of the whole debacle may have to do with the show’s aforementioned fealty to Sapkowski’s novels.

Henry Cavill’s one condition for staying on The Witcher
Back in May 2024, we got our first look at Liam Hemsworth as Geralt, and he looks, well, a lot like Henry Cavill as Geralt. Meanwhile Cavill is showing up in “Deadpool & Wolverine” cameos, prompting discussion about whether the “Man of Steel” star should finally join the Marvel Cinematic Universe for real. Whether or not that will happen remains unclear at this point. But then, quite a lot remains unclear when it comes to Cavill. Take his exit from “The Witcher,” for example. Almost two years after it was first announced, there’s been no truly satisfying explanation for his decision. But a 2021 profile in The Hollywood Reporter might retroactively shed some light on the matter.According to the article, Cavill was 100% committed to preserving “The Witcher” for at least seven seasons. “Absolutely,” he said when asked about this, adding, “As long as we can keep telling great stories which honor [author Andrzej] Sapkowski’s work.” It seems, then, that Cavill was always considering the series’ ability to preserve the magic of the source material, which might have been more important to him than anyone realized.

Again, there’s likely not one singular reason why Cavill left “The Witcher.” It seems much more likely that the faint promise of his return as Superman and his commitment to bringing his “Warhammer” series to fruition over at Amazon — another passion project for the British actor — might have tempted him away from the show to which he previously seemed so committed. But you’ve got to wonder whether, prior to his exit, Cavill also had some thoughts on the specific way in which “The Witcher” series adapted Andrzej Sapkowski’s novels.

Cavill was fully committed to The Witcher, until he wasn’t
Before he was officially cast as Geralt in “The Witcher,” Henry Cavill lobbied for the lead role, talking up his love for Andrzej Sapkowski’s novels and the video game adaptations. After landing the role and becoming the White Wolf, Cavill seemed remarkably dedicated to his job on the Netflix series. His commitment to “The Witcher” was such that he became an unofficial stunt coordinator during his final season, with the series’ actual stunt coordinator, Wolfgang Stegemann, praising the star’s dedication to the role and its physical demands.

Then, there was the time he pushed through some major contact lens issues and almost blinded himself in the process, all in service of making the best version of the series in which he’d lobbied hard to be cast. That came after Cavill suffered a nearly career-ending injury while filming an earlier season of “The Witcher,” suggesting his devotion to doing justice to the source material never wavered.

But as /Film’s Debopriyaa Dutta wrote in her review of season 3, despite the show’s recent improvements, “the series has a chronic tendency to sideline its rich source material in favor of clichéd fantasy tropes.” Was this at least part of what pushed Cavill to leave? Perhaps. But arguably more than anything, it seems like he really did think he was going to be Superman again.