The Witcher deepfake replaces Henry Cavill with Liam Hemsworth as Geralt
We're howling.
Last year, it was announced Liam Hemsworth would be taking over the role of Geralt from Superman actor Henry Cavill for the fourth season of Netflix's The Witcher adaptation.
This turn of events took many by surprise, especially given Cavill's clear passion for the series' source material. Some still find it hard to believe that the season three finale will be the last time we see Cavill straddling Roach and riding off into the sunset (or some sort of equivalent, this is The Witcher after all).
However, thanks to a recent deepfake video, we can get a better idea of how Hemsworth will look in his new The Witcher role.
Shared by VFX artist Matthew Anthony (AKA StryderHD), this video shows side-by-side comparisons of Cavill's actual portrayal of Geralt alongside a deepfaked Liam Hemsworth version. We can see the two Geralts chatting with Ciri and others, and Hemsworth looks... fine, I guess.
Of course, this is a fan-made video, and I am sure whenever we see Hemsworth officially in character as Geralt it will be better. Or, at least, I hope it will. Either way, you can enjoy this deepfake video for yourself below.
While many have been sceptical about Hemsworth's casting, it was recently revealed he almost landed the role of Geralt all the way back in 2018. He was reportedly one of the frontrunners for the part when the role was first being cast. However, as all know, the showrunners ultimately went with Cavill.
Sources have stated the casting process this time around was very quick because of this. It has been implied the producers went back to their original audition tapes before settling upon Hemsworth as the replacement Geralt of Rivia.
Meanwhile, series creator and showrunner Lauren Hissrich has promised that The Witcher's third season will give Cavill's Geralt of Rivia a "heroic sendoff", despite not being intentionally written that way.
"Geralt's big turn is about giving up neutrality and doing anything that he has to do to get to Ciri. And to me, it's the most heroic sendoff that we could have, even though it wasn't written to be that. Geralt has a new mission in mind when we come back to him in season four. He's a slightly different Geralt than we expected," Hissrich stated back in December.
Acknowledging the irony of her words, Hissrich closed by stating: "by the way, that's an understatement."