The Witcher Netflix Show Announced

For whatever reason only thing I can picture this show being is a modern-day version of the Kevin Sorbo Hercules.

I hope every episode ends with Geralt meditating, and then journaling ala Doogie Howser.

They are not adapting the games.

@hayt: @rata gain: Actually, there was lawyers involved at one point. And you are extremely lowballing the similarities here. The problem is that so many things rip-off Moorcock to the point most people don't even realise it.

Just makes me want to support him less.

Sold. Can Xena do cameos?

Wow, this was announced over a year ago already??

Anyway, Henry Cavill is confirmed for Geralt.

While he certainly wouldn't have been my first choice for this, he claims himself a big fan. I think I read somewhere that he said he finished the Witcher 3 multiple times.

I think I would have preferred an unknown for this, but having a person that is genuinely into the source material is also what I would have wanted.

We'll see.

https://io9.gizmodo.com/henry-cavill-will-lead-netflixs-witcher-series-as-geral-1828798390

I'm ambivalent about Henry Cavill as Geralt but this does seem to indicate that Netflix are getting behind the show in a big way. That at least bodes well for the production values.

I think this is the part where I make a joke about how Cavill is a perfect fit for Geralt because he's incapable of expressing emotions.

@arbitrarywater: Everybody wins!

Yeah, Cavill feels like a poor choice, I hope I'm wrong. I actually think he is spot on for sups, but Geralt is hard character to get right (arguable because of his lack of real human emotion), and I can't imagine him with any other voice other than Doug Cockles. Fan serviced to death maybe, but Mad Mikkelsen just seems like the right gut instinct.

Until I saw The Man from U.N.C.L.E. I thought Cavill was kinda bad at acting. Turns out the man can actually be a decent actor, they just did a real poor job of using him in those Superman movies.
I'm okay with this casting, hearing that he's apparently a fan of the games and even read the books makes this a really cool gig for him.

Finally the Witcher will have a moustache or are they going to CGI that away :D. I would have a picked Peter Stormare, i make it about the witcher retiring or something dumb like that. Or just any East European or Baltic / Scandinavian Actor. Now where getting this americana dude most of the good stuff in the witcher comes from it's fake Eastern European history.

I'm not too thrilled with this casting choice. Depressed Superman isn't really the aesthetic I want from Geralt.

I've always thought Geralt's English voice acting is terrible, so wouldn't mind a radical change. Unfortunately, the fans will expect to hear what they've heard in the game, so Cavill will probably just be doing a Cockles imitation.

Bit too handsome to play Geralt, but I guess makeup can do wondrous things.

I'm totally fine with seeing Henry Cavill bone every living thing in the Continent.

It seems they are trying to color up Ciri:

THE WITCHER for Netflix

Overall shoot dates: 18th October 2018 - end May 2019

Location: Budapest

Looking for a 16 or 15 year old BAME girl who can play down to 13/14. Must not be older than 18 years old.

CIRI

LEAD ROLE. OPTIONS REQUIRED

Cirilla. The Lion Cub of Cintra

source: http://www.nyt.org.uk/my-account/opportunities/film-theatre-and-tv-industry-castings

BAME = Black, Asian, and minority ethnic.

@charlie_victor_bravo: That's interesting, maybe the idea is to make the Nilfgaardian population primarily black or asian or something else.

Cavill is an uninspired choice for Geralt but whatever, still looking forward to the show.

People are gonna freak out about that casting choice for ciri but I really couldn't care less, the people who are upset about it bum me out way more than the producers not keeping exactly to the books/games.

Netflix shows usually have high production values but bad scripts and acting. I hope they can overcome that trap with the Witcher series. With Game of Thrones at the end of it's rope, the Witcher is probably the one universe out there that could become the next big fantasy series. Recent GOT seasons have not had very good writing either so the bar isn't set very high.

To be Honest if Lucy Lawless hadn't age she would make a great Yen. She has no problems showing off her body, after Spartacus and Ash vs Evil Dead, and Yen is pretty much like that, although using magic she can retain her 30~40 year old body, even though sh has at least 100+ years.

Having Cavill has Geralt might not be the best choice, not because of his acting skills (i can't speak for superman since i didnt watch them, but in U.N.C.L.E he did a great job i agree with @aktivity on that) but "age" in a sense. Geralt if memory doesn't fail me during the events of Witcher 3 is at least 70~80 years old) but retains the 50 year old body.

As for the Ciri choice, i couldn't care less, i just request its a girl because that's important for the reason why she is special

The Ciri news just makes me wish they had gotten Idris Elba for Geralt.

@banefirelord: I would be so incredibly down for that.

@banefirelord: damn that'd be cool

@alvarofaraujo: When I think of Yen in real life I think of Eva Green. I always thought Geralt was 40 something with gray hair. People getting mad over diversity is silly. Adding different races assists in people from those races watching the show too. Some people say its being too PC, but its really a marketing move.

@deathstriker I can actually picture that, plus her stubbornness from the 300 movie would make a great Yen

For me the Ciri choice comes down to she's a princess, of this polish realm. If they cast someone who doesn't fit with most of the population how did the family get the throne? I hope they address that as there's plenty of times through history where foreigners make up the ruling class.

Though at that point it's a different story and probably a bit disrespectful to the polish who have a history of being ruled over by others.

What worries me about the casting decision around Ciri isn't really about her character, but rather that it could be indicative of their casting decisions across the board. Not just main or minor characters, but extras as well. Making the whole of Nilfgaard more ethnically diverse seems like a mistake when one of the defining characteristics of both the region and the series in general is the bigoted and distrustful nature of so many of it's denizens, which is mainly bred from the homogeneity of it's population.

However, even if they only plan on altering Ciri's character, I suspect that adding the additional stigma Ciri would receive for being a minority might lead to the audience not giving a shit about what happens to Geralt. Witcher's might be one of the prime "others" in that universe, but the more relatable other-ization based on one's ethnicity would likely overshadow the plight of the Witcher, which is kind of a big part of the story. Not to say that there isn't a world in which someone actually makes all of this work, but it's Netflix, so who knows.

EDIT: Got Nilfgaard mixed up with the region that Geralt spends most of his time in.

Considering how important Ciri's lineage is to the Witcher setting changing her means changing the ethnicity of all of Cintra (or the elves) or Nilfgaard or both depending on how they decide the ethnicity of her parents. It makes you wonder why people even adapt IP if they're going to change it so wildly.

I just remembered the Niflgaardians are also known as The Black Ones so they are really asking for trouble here.

As much as the general world won’t care, Polish people are very proud and protective about the Witcher series, especially since it’s one of the few things to break or and gain international acclaim from that country. So if they start messing with races of characters there will be a lot of dissent and with good reason because there is no point in it. The Witcher is somewhat based on Polish history and culture which is not all that ethnically diverse but rich in lore. But that sentiment doesn’t go over very well in today’s political climate as seen by the criticisms levied at Witcher 3 not being diverse enough, and people simply not understanding why that is.

As for Cavil I think he looks fine and with makeup will look like a pretty good Geralt - it helps that his Superman days made the guy look like a brickhouse. My main concern, and something that is actually hard to change, is his voice. I’ve gotten used to the Voice Actor for the English language Geralt whose raspy monotone fits the whole emotionless-mutant angle that Witcher’s are known for. Cavil in every movie I’ve seen him in has sounded very proper and enounciated.

I wonder if this is a fake casting call. They really can't be serious can they?

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

@liquiddragon: hahahha where's his mustache...

Oh man. He looks like he was going to model for cheap romance novel covers but got rejected.

@liquiddragon: cool halloween wig.

@liquiddragon: haha! That’s a great example of why I wanted the show to be animated or CG. I think I’d prefer most every video game movie to be animated.

Where are his cat eyes. Why is he so tan, Geralt is pale as a ghost. No scars, no stubble, no wear and tear or age on his face. Hair is too long and wrong style, besides the fact that the wig is terrible. Just grow out your damn hair Cavill, you bum, you beautiful fool.

Gahhh stop failing on every video game adaptation.

Yeah at this point there are like 4 good casting choices in video game adaptations over like 30 years. Just get the voice actors together and do CG.

@liquiddragon: They say a witcher carries two swords. One for gouging out each eye, apparently.

This is photoshopped, yes?

I find it kinda amusing how people instantly jumps to "this is awful, he looks all wrong!" etc when this is only a costume and makeup test. The show also appears to be following the books, which means it will be a younger Geralt by quite a few years. Oh, and they are based on the books, not the games. So why does everyone call this a video game adaptation, and moan about him not looking exactly like in the game?

I am looking forward to see how this actually turns out. While the author seems like a douche, I am glad he is on board. That paired with the fact that Cavill is a huge fan of the books makes me think this can turn out good.

I'll still check it out, but maaaaan look at that picture!

Not a good picture but I like Henry Cavill, I love The Witcher books and games, and I like Netflix Originals so I'm very far from writing it off.

He looks like an extra in an Underworld movie. I'll still watch it though.

While there is still definitely work to be done with that costume and make up, and I can't say I have complete faith they will get it right, the amount of people I'm seeing trying to compare this to his Witcher 3 look is extremely obnoxious. He's not supposed to look like that. This is really not that far off from his Witcher 1 look, and this takes place many years before that.

Well, here's my shitty attempt to make him look more like a Witcher.

@liquiddragon:

Yikes!

Now I need to rewatch Twin Peaks with the understanding that BOB was a witcher...

EDIT: There’s a 22 second teaser video of thr same session as that picture. It looks less like a Halloween costume in said video.

I think cat eyes might look absurd in live action, but if they gruff him up with a beard and scar, it might work. I’ve not read the books, but from what I know from my days with the games, Geralt should look more rugged and less pretty.

...we’ll see!

His face is too slender and sleek imo, looks more like an elf than anything.

@nutter In the books Geralt hates beards.