Following Netflix's announcement that Henry Cavill will be departing from his role as Geralt of Rivia from The Witcher, the internet has been aghast.
While some of the series' fans have since made peace with the news and are looking forward to his replacement, Liam Hemsworth, others have taken to social media to bash the move with many threatening a boycott if Netflix goes ahead with the recasting.
To ensure Cavill remains as Geralt, a fan of the series, Stef Ma, created a Change.org petition asking Netflix to keep the actor. The petition starts with a quote from Andrej Sapkowski, the author of the books that inspired the series, where he commended Cavill's portrayal of Geralt and compared it to Viggo Mortensen's portrayal of Aragorn in the Lord of the Rings films.
While no official reason has been given for Cavill's exit, many of the series' fans believe it is because he disagrees with the showrunners on how the show should progress. According to reports, Cavill wants the show to stay true to its source material, while the showrunners are in favor of switching things up. In light of this, the petition tells Netflix not to hold on to "writers and showrunners that believe themselves to be superior to the actual creator of the stories that made them successful.