The Witcher Rumor: This Iconic Villain May Be Played By A District 9 Star

By now most fans of Netflix's flagship fantasy series know that in "The Witcher" Season 4 Liam Hemsworth will take over the role of Geralt of Rivia from current lead Henry Cavill. Now, according to a casting rumor that fantasy TV blog Redanian Intelligence is reporting, it looks like Hemsworth will be joined by one of the stars of Neill Blomkamp's 2009 sci-fi drama "District 9" portraying an iconic villain from the "Witcher" book series.

While his involvement isn't yet confirmed, actor Sharlto Copley will purportedly play bounty hunter Leo Bonhart. Viewers may remember Copley as main protagonist Wikus van de Merwe in "District 9." If this rumor turns out to be true, he will likewise play a part in the upcoming "Witcher" spin-off "The Rats," which revolves around a group of teenage thieves and takes place prior to the main "Witcher" timeline. Bonhart, then, would presumably debut in "The Rats" before appearing in the upcoming "Witcher" season after fans had become familiar with his backstory in the prequel series.

For the time being, Copley's casting is still a rumor, so it's entirely possible that another actor could portray Bonhart — who, regardless, should have an important part to play in both "The Rats" and "The Witcher" Season 4. That said, a number of fans have already responded positively to the prospect of Copley in this pivotal role.

While some "Witcher" fans are hitting the eject button based on the recasting of Henry Cavill going into Season 4, plenty of commenters online are excited to see Sharlto Copley as Leo Bonhart should this rumor come to pass.

For example, one of the top comments in a thread on the "Witcher" TV show subreddit about the news reads, "Wasn't who I envisioned but if they give him grey/white hair and rough him up a bit, I think it can work. He's a really good actor and I remember being enthralled by his performance in District 9."

User Green_Machine33 similarly shared that Copley isn't whom they envisioned for Bonhart, but someone whose acting work they appreciate all the same. Meanwhile, user MegaJello1234 suggested that Copley's role most similar to Bonhart is his character in Neill Blomkamp's 2013 sci-fi action film "Elysium."

On Twitter too, in response to Redanian Intelligence's post about the rumor, both @fredrico179 and @TheKarnov praised Copley's casting. Moving forward, then, if Copley is indeed the actor playing Bonhart, a fair number of fans are looking forward to seeing what he can do with the part.