By KAYLA ROYSTER & MARK O’CALLAGHAN
Staff Writer & Co-Arts Editor
It looks like Henry Cavill will have to trade in his tights and cape for a sword in Netflix’s upcoming show, “The Witcher.” Cavill will play Geralt of Rivia, a genetically enhanced mercenary that fights monsters in the land called the Continent. The series will be based on the popular book series penned by Andrzej Sapkowski and the video game franchise developed by CD Projekt.
Showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich had her eyes sight on Cavill as he was the only choice for Geralt. She tweeted that “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.”
Cavill is said to be a huge fan of “The Witcher” series. He told IGN that he recently replayed “The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt” saying that it’s a really good game. When asked if he would want to play Gerald, he says “Absolutely. Yeah, that would be an amazing role.” He coyly teased that he heard that show will use elements from both the books and games.
He recently starred in “Mission Impossible: Fallout” and once again portrayed Superman in “Justice League.” His next film will be “Norris”, that will focus on U.S agents trying to capture an online predator.
Netflix announced back in May that the show will go straight to series with eight episodes for the first season. The streaming service recently put on their site that “The Witcher” could be premiering in 2019.
Andrzej Sapkowski gave his blessing for the project and is on board as a creative consultant.
This move by Netflix could be a giant step for them as “The Witcher” is a very popular franchise. The novels have received critical acclaim and became so popular worldwide that it’s been translated to over 23 languages.
The video games also received critical acclaim and have advanced the development of video games. The series is so popular in Poland that Prime Minister Donald Tusk gave a copy of “The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings” to President Barack Obama.
“The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt” expanded on what can be done in an open world environment. After launch, over ten million copies have been shipped out and made the franchise millions. Now, almost every open world video game wants to have the same success that “The Witcher” had, including popular properties like “Assassin’s Creed” and Red Dead Redemption 2.”
It’s an ambitious project for Netflix to take on but with the ever-growing streaming competition, this could help Netflix stay on top.
Henry Cavill is repped by WME, The Garcia Company and Gang, Tyre, Ramer and Brown.
