According to Deadline, Liam Hemsworth (The Hunger Games, The Last Song) talked about his reasoning for his social media break after being cast in the fourth season of Netflix’s The Witcher after Henry Cavill (Man of Steel, Enola Holmes) stepped down. Following the news in 2022 that he would take over the role of Geralt on the series, Hemsworth revealed that he “jumped off social media and the internet most of last year” amid the fan reaction to his casting.

“There was quite a bit of noise and I had to put that aside. It started to become a distraction,” Hemsworth told Entertainment Weekly via Deadline. “I dealt with that sort of thing in the past a lot and, you know, at the end of the day, I love making movies and I love telling stories and acting. I just don’t want any of that to affect my way of telling the story that I’m trying to tell.”

As per Deadline, it was reported that Cavill had made a short-term deal for the series and decided it was time to move on after three seasons of playing the White Wolf, given the overseas filming locations and demanding production schedule. Freya Allan (Baghead, The Third Day), who plays Ciri on the series and will be back for the fourth season, stated that she hopes fans “give him the time of day” after Hemsworth received online backlash for the casting.

According to Deadline, Cavill called his replacement “fantastic,” adding, “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.”

“I don’t want to speak for him, but from what I’ve understood, I feel like he’s really wanting to try and bring the heart,” Allan told Collider via Deadline. “He’s been training. I feel sorry for him, honestly, because, number one, that fan base can be very attack-y, and it’s not an ideal situation to be in taking up someone else’s role.”

Allan added via Deadline, “But I’m really excited to see what he does. And he’s such a lovely guy. I just hope that people give him the time of day, you know?”

As per Deadline, the fourth season of The Witcher premieres on Netflix on October 30.