Fans of Netflix's The Witcher have had their hearts shattered after learning that Henry Cavill would be replaced by Liam Hemsworth as Geralt of Rivia in the latest installment of the fantasy series.
Now, it seems they have taken matters into their own hands; starting a petition to bring Cavill back as the title character and instead fire the show's writers.
Hemsworth initially announced the shock move in a recent Instagram post, writing: "As a Witcher fan I'm over the moon about the opportunity to play Geralt of Rivia. Henry Cavill has been an incredible Geralt, and I'm honored that he's handing me the reins and allowing me to take up the White Wolf's blades for the next chapter of his adventure."
"Henry, I've been a fan of yours for years and was inspired by what you brought to this beloved character. I may have some big boots to fill, but I'm truly excited to be stepping into The Witcher world," the 32-year-old Aussie actor added.
Cavill himself also took to Instagram, sharing the same image with his own caption, which read: "My journey as Geralt of Rivia has been filled with both monsters and adventures, and alas, I will be laying down my medallion and my swords for Season 4. In my stead, the fantastic Mr Liam Hemsworth will be taking up the mantle of the White Wolf."
The 39-year-old added: "As with the greatest of literary characters, I pass the torch with reverence for the time spent embodying Geralt and enthusiasm to see Liam's take on this most fascinating and nuanced of men. Liam, good sir, this character has such a wonderful depth to him, enjoy diving in and seeing what you can find."
However, many fans took issue with this bold switch, unleashing their frustrations in a new Change.org petition that has garnered over 15,000 signatures.
"NETFLIX: You MUST keep Henry Cavill as The Witcher and replace the writers instead," the petition was named.
The petition's creator, Stef Ma, wrote in the description: "Andrzej Sapkowski himself said about Henry Cavill: 'I was more than happy with Henry Cavill's appearance as The Witcher, he's a real professional. Just as Viggo Mortensen gave his face to Aragorn, so Henry gave his to Geralt and it shall be forever so.'"
"Henry isn't leaving The Witcher because of Superman, Netflix executives have once again made a grave decision against delivering for their fans. The reason why The Witcher is such a popular show is the fans' love of the source material of books and games, that are hated by and have actively been mocked by the writers and showrunner," the description continues.
Ma added: "Henry Cavill is one of those big fans, he knows all of it inside out and wanted to stay true to Sapkowski's world, which is why Netflix wants to replace him."
"We already had to suffer through the disaster that was the end of Game of Thrones - NETFLIX don't repeat the exact same mistake of holding onto writers and showrunners that believe themselves to be superior to the actual creator of the stories that made them successful," the description concludes.
Outrage over the proposed switch from Cavill to Hemsworth continued in the petition's comments section, with one person writing: "If Netflix don't do whatever they need to do to keep Cavill, I will be cancelling our family subscription. The Witcher and Stranger Things are the only two Netflix series that we really care about in this household."
"The writers' disregard for the books and games was compensated with the stellar casting of Henry Cavill. Without him I see no reason to continue the series, frankly. I'd rather they changed the production team and kept the actors..." the comment continued.
"Henry Cavill fought for the series while the writers openly mocked the source material. They should be the ones to go, not our Geralt of Rivia," another person wrote.
As of this writing, more than 17,000 people have signed the petition. And with the signatures only increasing, surely it's only a matter of time before Netflix will be forced to respond.
