The official season 3 teaser for Netflix’s The Witcher dropped today, leaving fans torn between excitement and outrage as they contemplate the fantasy show’s impending cast change.
Henry Cavill’s departure from the series sparked massive backlash from fans, many of whom struggle to imagine any other actor as Geralt of Rivia. The season 3 update is only serving as a reminder of past hurts, infuriating the fanbase anew.
The same can be said for the show’s first poster, which preceded the trailer drop by right around 24 hours. The first few looks at what fans can expect from season 3 are helping the hype train to resume its normal trajectory, even as salty The Witcher fans continue to despair over the loss of Cavill. They’re even trying to squash excitement for season 3 of the show, despite the fact that Cavill will remain in the role through all of the upcoming season, but sheer irritation over his recasting — and Netflix’s decision to split the season into two parts — is massively detracting from fan enthusiasm. Once you add in the strange activity going on over on Instagram, The Witcher fandom honestly doesn’t know what to think.
The Witcher drops a poster for season 3 and reminds fans that Cavill is on his way out
A poster for season 3 of The Witcher arrived online yesterday, but aims to hype up the upcoming season quickly turned to fury as the fandom remembered that this season will be Henry Cavill’s last. A promise of more to come — which was delivered in the form of a teaser earlier today — wasn’t near enough to keep fans happy, and discussion of the poster quickly devolved into complaints about the show’s rapid downturn, which fans are convinced will commence the second Liam Hemsworth takes up the mantle of the White Wolf.
None of this was aided by reminders of season 2, which departed massively from the source material many fans know and love. It’s one thing to take minor liberties with the original story — something that is sometimes necessary in video game adaptations — and entirely another to warp the final product into something barely recognizable.
Quickly followed by a teaser trailer and official release date
Just under 24 hours after the season 3 poster dropped, Netflix supplied fans with a teaser trailer hyping up the new season. The just under a minute teaser helped in reigniting fan interest, but the release date — or dates — were less popular. Nearly everyone is here to see Henry Cavill return to the role of Geralt, but far fewer people are pleased with the idea of a two-part season. Netflix has approached season releases in a similar way before — presumably to keep fan chatter going past the typical binged weekend — but few people are happy to see that volume two of the season will be separated from volume one by right around a month.
What happened to the official Witcher Instagram?
In yet more odd and off-putting Witcher news, some strange activity is unfurling over on Instagram. Fans seeking out older posts will find themselves coming up bare, with nothing relating to a season other than three populating the page. In fact, the once-flush page currently boasts only three posts, all relating to the recently-released poster and teaser for season 3. It’s almost like the team behind the show is trying to erase its history, which makes little sense considering the interconnected nature of its story. Perhaps they’re getting ready for a complete reworking, once Cavill is properly out the door as Geralt? It’s hard to say, but it’s certainly raising fan eyebrows.