Henry Cavill makes appearance on The Witcher red carpet despite exiting the show

Superman star announced his exit from the Netflix series last autumn

Henry Cavill made an unexpected appearance at the series three premiere of The Witcher in London despite announcing his departure from the hit fantasy Netflix series.

The British actor posed for pictures but did not give press interviews at the event on Wednesday, which took place at the Now Building in London.

Cavill announced last October that he would be stepping down from the role of travelling monster hunter Geralt of Rivia.

He is due to be replaced by Australian actor Liam Hemsworth, who will appear in the show’s fourth season.

At the premiere on Wednesday, Cavill appeared alongside his co-stars, including Anya Chalotra, Freya Allan and Joey Batey, as well as his partner Natalie Viscuso.

He wore a black double-breasted suit with a black shirt.

Speaking at Tudum 2023: A Netflix Global Fan Event in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Cavill said it had been “a pleasure and an honour” to work with his castmates and that he would miss them “very much”.

Henry Cavill attends the UK premiere of ‘The Witcher’ season three (Ian West/PA Wire/PA Images)

“You guys bring so much nuance and detail to these characters, which are often at risk of being oversimplified, and what you guys have done with the characters has involved work, care and effort, and believe me working with you guys was the biggest pleasure,” he said.

“So just want to say I’m (going to) miss you. I’m (going to) miss you very much.”

In a recent interview, Cavill’s co-star Anya Chalotra (who plays Yennefer of Vengerberg) revealed that the cast didn’t know about Cavill’s exit from the show “until after we’d filmed season three”.

He was also set to return to the character of Superman after it was revealed in a post-credits scene of Dwayne Johnson’s anti-hero film Black Adam last year.

However, in December last year, it was confirmed that Cavill would not be reprising his role as the superhero, despite being told by the studio to “announce his return in October”.

In his stead, Pearl star David Corenswet was announced on Tuesday as the new star of James Gunn’s forthcoming Superman: Legacy. Rachel Brosnahan will star as his love interest, Lois Lane.

Cavill began his Superman tenure in 2013’s Man of Steel. He reprised his role in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), Justice League (2017) (and its 2021 director’s cut).

The third season of The Witcher is available on Netflix from 29 June.

Additional reporting from the Press Association