The third season of Netflix's The Witcher is almost upon us and chances are some of you have mixed feelings about what's to come from the adaptation. Perhaps the comments of a departing Henry Cavill and Joey Batey, who will continue to play Jaskier beyond the upcoming season, will help sway you as the latter has described elements of it as being “Batman-like”.
Both Cavill and Batey spoke with Netflix ahead of season three's arrival, a conversation in which Geralt's political neutrality was heavily discussed. “Geralt has seen how politics work out. A lot of it’s incredibly selfish. No matter which side anyone’s on, they’re doing the thing for them,” Cavill explains.
“There’s something quite Batman-like about it. Being above the political machinations of the world,” Batey adds, remarking that people are the real monsters as opposed to some of the beasts Geralt has been tasked with taking down during seasons one and two. Not only some Batman parallels to be drawn there but also similarities between The Witcher and The Last Of Us. Barely a clicker in sight during season one as people were the ones responsible for holding up Joel and Ellie's journey across the country.
Batey goes on to say the political atmosphere has shifted massively for season three, providing the biggest test yet for Geralt as he tries to remain neutral. That might prove difficult as the Witcher now has something to fight for, needing to protect Ciri from just about everyone. However, that more or less everyone is trying to get their hands on Ciri may well mean there isn't a side for Geralt to fall on other than his own.
The Jaskier actor also had good news for Witcher fans who have read the books. Despite showrunners confirming there will be content in season three included in neither the books nor the games, Batey claimed it's “fairly representative of what happens in the text.”
Concern over how far the show will stray from the books is just one reason why Witcher fans are worried about the upcoming season. It will also be the last time Cavill plays Geralt as the actor will be replaced by Liam Hemsworth for season four. Someone has already deepfaked Hemsworth into pre-existing episodes of the show to get a feel for how season four is going to look.
The disappointment surrounding the recasting of Geralt has already kicked in even though we've got a full season of Cavill still to come. Yennefer's look in season three has been heavily criticized, and some Witcher fans plan on boycotting season three while encouraging others to do the same.