‘The Witcher: Blood Origins’ star Minnie Driver compares “amazing” Henry Cavill recast as Geralt to ‘Doctor Who’

Minnie Driver thinks viewers should be more accepting of Netflix‘s “amazing” decision to recast Henry Cavill’s Geralt of Rivia in The Witcher.

The Good Will Hunting actor is set to join the fantasy franchise in prequel series The Witcher: Blood Origins. Despite being a newcomer to The Witcher world, Driver has some thoughts on what’s been going on with the main show. Asked about Cavill being replaced by Liam Hemsworth, Driver said she thinks people need to be more accepting of the move.

“We come from this tradition of Doctor Who where the Doctor regenerates. I think we need to look at it far more like it’s amazing,” she told Entertainment Weekly. “It’s an amazing person, it’s an amazing character, and we should have different people playing it.”

Driver explained that she first thought of the recast in that way when talking to one of her son’s friends. She said it was a “really cool conversation” to have with a teenager. She added: “He was like, ‘I never thought about it like that.’”

Cavill is set to hang up his amulet and silver sword after the third season of The Witcher airs in 2023. Hemsworth has already been booked and secured as his replacement, something which fans have found hard to stomach – despite Cavill graciously handing over the role to Hemsworth.

But before Cavill makes his swan song, there is another Witcher instalment to come. The Witcher: Blood Origins is set 1,200 years before events in The Witcher. The prequel series depicts the creation of the first prototype Witcher and events leading up to the Conjunction of the Spheres, when the worlds of monsters, men and elves merged into one.

The four-part miniseries, led by showrunner and writer Declan de Barra (Iron Fist), stars Sophia Brown and Laurence O’Fuarain as Éile and Fjall, two warriors estranged from their opposing clans. Michelle Yeoh also stars as Scian, a sword master and last of her tribe. Other cast members include Mirren Mack, Lenny Henry, Minnie Driver, Francesca Mills, Zach Wyatt, Lizzie Annis and Huw Novelli.

The Witcher: Blood Origins hits Netflix worldwide on Sunday December 25. In the US, the show drops at 12am PT/3am ET, while UK viewers will be able to watch all four episodes from 8am GMT.