Joey Batey steals the show whenever he’s on as Jaskier in Netflix’s The Witcher, and his chemistry with Henry Cavill’s titular Geralt of Rivia is one of those rare match-ups that work despite every reason pointing to the contrary. So, with all of that to consider, how is the actor taking the news that his co-star of more than four years is leaving the show mid-flight?
The Witcher fans have yet to come to terms with Henry Cavill leaving the show, let alone Liam Hemsworth coming in to fill his shoes from season 4 onward. With the fandom already on the fence after the writers deviated from the source material in season 2 — and rumors hinting that Cavill opted out for this very reason — the live-action adaptation is walking on a razor-thin edge and ready to crumble at every moment.
Batey, who portrays Jaskier, aka Dandelion in the show, approaches all of this with a positive attitude. In a recent interview to promote The Witcher: Blood Origin, a prequel series that stars the bard as its narrator, the actor revealed that he got in touch with Cavill after the announcement, but didn’t say anything about the show itself.
He even reached out to Liam Hemsworth, who’s apparently taking this seriously, despite the fact that he was hardly the fandom’s first choice to step into the role.
“I spoke to both of them, actually. I spoke to Henry last week, we text a fair bit,” he said. “He’s a very good friend. I sent him a message just saying how much everyone in the show would miss him, myself more so than most because Henry and I are very good pals and we’ve spent the past four years carving out these stories.
“I reached out to [Liam] and said welcome. The strength in him and the bravery to come and join a show like this, like halfway through is unbelievable and I hope that everyone knows the commitment that he’s already showing to these incredibly big boots he has to fill. He’s diving headfirst into this and taking it so seriously with his research and training and things like that. We’ll miss Henry an awful lot, but Liam’s gonna bring something new and fresh and different to it.”
The Witcher team is returning for another outing this summer, blessedly spearheaded by Henry Cavill still. But after that, you’re going to have to toss a coin to a completely different Witcher.