Everything We Know About The Witcher TV Series
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VOICE OVER: Rebecca Brayton
WRITTEN BY: Nick Spake
Winter has come and gone. Today we'll be explaining everything we know about the newest fanstasy television series, The Witcher. Starring Henry Cavill, this show has little known about it, until today. Join us as we investigate The Witcher. Do you think The Witcher will replace Game of Thrones? Let us know in the comments!
Winter may be over, but now “The Witcher” is coming. Welcome to WatchMojo and today we’ll be discussing everything we know about “The Witcher” TV series.
As far as shows based on video games go, Netflix delivered one of the best ever with the animated “Castlevania” series. The streaming platform might work their magic again when this live-action adaptation of “The Witcher” makes its debut in fall 2019. Of course, Netflix’s “The Witcher” is inclined to borrow more from writer Andrzej Sapkowski’s book series than the RPG games. This is apparent from the images that’ve been released, revealing actor Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia - with one key characteristic missing.
In “The Witcher” video games, Geralt was depicted carrying two swords on his back – one for slaying men and the other for monsters. In all the first-look photos, however, Cavill’s Geralt only has one sword on his person. This is closer to Sapkowski’s novels where Geralt equipped one sword on his back while the other was stored away with his loyal horse Roach. It’s possible that this will tie into the show’s narrative somehow. Maybe Geralt originally carried two swords, but then passed one down to his adopted daughter, Ciri. Judging from the promotional images alone, though, the show’s story and lore seem to be mainly deriving inspiration from the ever-beloved books as opposed to the games. This is all just speculation, though! Sapkowski will even be acting as a creative consultant alongside creator Lauren Schmidt Hissrich, who executive produced Netflix’s “Daredevil” and “The Umbrella Academy.”
Netflix describes the series as “an epic tale of fate and family.” The show’s official logline reads, “Geralt of Rivia, a solitary monster hunter, struggles to find his place in a world where people often prove more wicked than beasts. But when destiny hurtles him toward a powerful sorceress, and a young princess with a dangerous secret, the three must learn to navigate the increasingly volatile Continent together." The sorceress in question is Yennefer, played by Anya Chalotra, and the princess is of course Ciri, played by Freya Allan. The first images of Chalotra and Allan in their respective roles have been met with widespread approval from fans, although Cavill’s look as Geralt has proven more divisive.
Aside from being short a sword, some have taken issue with Cavill’s appearance overall, particularly his wig. While Geralt also has long, white locks, various Twitter users have pointed out that Cavill’s hair is making him look a lot like Legolas in “The Lord of the Rings,” Lucius Malfoy in “Harry Potter,” and especially Rayden in the “Mortal Kombat” movies. Why is it that Cavill’s hair always seems to stir up so much commotion? In spite of the numerous memes, many still feel that Cavill has the physical build and acting range to pull the role off. Maybe we all just need to get used to seeing Superman in a fantasy setting.
Cavill’s wig isn’t the only factor that has sparked a bit of backlash across the internet. The channel Redanian Intelligence shared leaked footage from the show featuring what appears to be Nilfgaardian armor. The costume design hasn’t exactly been well-received by users on YouTube and ResetEra, who commented that the armor looks like “hockey gear,” “Power Rangers level crud,” and “veiny alien sacs.” While it’s certainly not the Nilfgaardian armor we got in the games, it’s possible that the armor seen in this leaked footage will be touched up in post-production. In any case, at least Geralt’s armor on the poster is looking pretty badass.
In spite of these minor controversies, “The Witcher” remains one of the most anticipated new shows of 2019, as well as one of Netflix’s most ambitious ventures yet. It’s no secret that the streaming service has a ton tied up in this series - likely hoping it will be the next big pop culture fantasy phenomenon. People are already calling it Netflix’s answer to “Game of Thrones,” which wrapped up its final season in May 2019. Like “Game of Thrones,” “The Witcher” is bound to take audiences to an assortment of exotic locales, including Hungary where principal production started in October 2018. A few months later, production made its way to Spain’s Canary Islands with plans to shoot in Gran Canaria, La Palma, and La Gomera.
With so much time, money, and traveling invested in “The Witcher,” we’re expecting a truly epic series. Don’t except the first season to be epic in length, however, as we’re only getting eight episodes. Actually, there was initially talk of adapting Sapkowski’s books into a single film until Kelly Luegenbiehl, Netflix’s Vice President International Originals, suggested otherwise. Luegenbiehl said, “How can you take eight novels and just turn it into a film? There’s so much material here. Through a number of conversations, the producers got really excited about the idea of using the source material for a longer-running series.” While we’re only getting eight episodes to start off with, Netflix is rumored to be open to producing more seasons depending on how well this first one performs. Whatever they have in store for us, the showrunners have nowhere to go but up after “The Hexer” TV series.
As far as shows based on video games go, Netflix delivered one of the best ever with the animated “Castlevania” series. The streaming platform might work their magic again when this live-action adaptation of “The Witcher” makes its debut in fall 2019. Of course, Netflix’s “The Witcher” is inclined to borrow more from writer Andrzej Sapkowski’s book series than the RPG games. This is apparent from the images that’ve been released, revealing actor Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia - with one key characteristic missing.
In “The Witcher” video games, Geralt was depicted carrying two swords on his back – one for slaying men and the other for monsters. In all the first-look photos, however, Cavill’s Geralt only has one sword on his person. This is closer to Sapkowski’s novels where Geralt equipped one sword on his back while the other was stored away with his loyal horse Roach. It’s possible that this will tie into the show’s narrative somehow. Maybe Geralt originally carried two swords, but then passed one down to his adopted daughter, Ciri. Judging from the promotional images alone, though, the show’s story and lore seem to be mainly deriving inspiration from the ever-beloved books as opposed to the games. This is all just speculation, though! Sapkowski will even be acting as a creative consultant alongside creator Lauren Schmidt Hissrich, who executive produced Netflix’s “Daredevil” and “The Umbrella Academy.”
Netflix describes the series as “an epic tale of fate and family.” The show’s official logline reads, “Geralt of Rivia, a solitary monster hunter, struggles to find his place in a world where people often prove more wicked than beasts. But when destiny hurtles him toward a powerful sorceress, and a young princess with a dangerous secret, the three must learn to navigate the increasingly volatile Continent together." The sorceress in question is Yennefer, played by Anya Chalotra, and the princess is of course Ciri, played by Freya Allan. The first images of Chalotra and Allan in their respective roles have been met with widespread approval from fans, although Cavill’s look as Geralt has proven more divisive.
Aside from being short a sword, some have taken issue with Cavill’s appearance overall, particularly his wig. While Geralt also has long, white locks, various Twitter users have pointed out that Cavill’s hair is making him look a lot like Legolas in “The Lord of the Rings,” Lucius Malfoy in “Harry Potter,” and especially Rayden in the “Mortal Kombat” movies. Why is it that Cavill’s hair always seems to stir up so much commotion? In spite of the numerous memes, many still feel that Cavill has the physical build and acting range to pull the role off. Maybe we all just need to get used to seeing Superman in a fantasy setting.
Cavill’s wig isn’t the only factor that has sparked a bit of backlash across the internet. The channel Redanian Intelligence shared leaked footage from the show featuring what appears to be Nilfgaardian armor. The costume design hasn’t exactly been well-received by users on YouTube and ResetEra, who commented that the armor looks like “hockey gear,” “Power Rangers level crud,” and “veiny alien sacs.” While it’s certainly not the Nilfgaardian armor we got in the games, it’s possible that the armor seen in this leaked footage will be touched up in post-production. In any case, at least Geralt’s armor on the poster is looking pretty badass.
In spite of these minor controversies, “The Witcher” remains one of the most anticipated new shows of 2019, as well as one of Netflix’s most ambitious ventures yet. It’s no secret that the streaming service has a ton tied up in this series - likely hoping it will be the next big pop culture fantasy phenomenon. People are already calling it Netflix’s answer to “Game of Thrones,” which wrapped up its final season in May 2019. Like “Game of Thrones,” “The Witcher” is bound to take audiences to an assortment of exotic locales, including Hungary where principal production started in October 2018. A few months later, production made its way to Spain’s Canary Islands with plans to shoot in Gran Canaria, La Palma, and La Gomera.
With so much time, money, and traveling invested in “The Witcher,” we’re expecting a truly epic series. Don’t except the first season to be epic in length, however, as we’re only getting eight episodes. Actually, there was initially talk of adapting Sapkowski’s books into a single film until Kelly Luegenbiehl, Netflix’s Vice President International Originals, suggested otherwise. Luegenbiehl said, “How can you take eight novels and just turn it into a film? There’s so much material here. Through a number of conversations, the producers got really excited about the idea of using the source material for a longer-running series.” While we’re only getting eight episodes to start off with, Netflix is rumored to be open to producing more seasons depending on how well this first one performs. Whatever they have in store for us, the showrunners have nowhere to go but up after “The Hexer” TV series.
