Fans of the Witcher games have been fan-casting the titular monster-hunting sorcerer for years now – and now Netflix has confirmed the actor who will play Geralt of Rivia in its upcoming serialised adaptation. Fresh from a stand-out turn in Mission: Impossible – Fallout, Henry Cavill will be saddling up for the epic fantasy series. Fittingly, he's a massive gamer who's previously outed himself as a huge fan of the series. Presumably he’ll be growing his moustache back out to play the grizzled hunter-for-hire - here’s hoping there are no surprise Superman reshoots on the horizon.
While the video games – especially 2015’s The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – helped to popularise the story, the tale originates in a series of novels by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski. The first series on Netflix will consist of eight episodes, with the streaming service’s ‘See What’s Next’ social media account confirming that it will be based primarily on the books. The show’s executive producer Lauren S. Hissrich also tweeted about Cavill’s appointment to the role, writing: “He was my first meeting. I didn’t have writers or scripts yet – just a greenlight and a lot of passion. That was four months ago, and I’ve never forgotten the passion he brought. He IS Geralt. He always has been. I’m so thrilled to welcome HENRY CAVILL to the #Witcher family.”
With the lead now cast, production on Netflix’s Witcher series can’t be too far off – it seems this could be the service’s hopes for a Game of Thrones-style epic fantasy hit, while Amazon pursues its Lord of the Rings show. In the meantime, we’ll be getting stuck back into Wild Hunt – and its two giant expansion packs.
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