The Witcher is about to be one of Netflix’s flagship series. With critically acclaimed video games made in the past decade, as well as best selling books all over the world, the series is set to be adapted into a full series. If you’re already missing Game of Thrones, then you only have to wait a few months to fill that void.
With a cast led by Superman-star Henry Cavill, The Witcher follows a dark fantasy world where Geralt (Cavill) is a witcher, which is basically Aragorn from The Lord of the Rings with the fighting prowess of a Jedi and some cool differentiation. Most importantly, he’s a monster hunter. Among the struggles of Geralt are his interactions with the sorceress, Yennifer, the Child of the Elder Blood named Ciri, and his – though he feigns from saying it – best man Jaskier. (Gamers and readers will know him as Dandelion)
The Witcher deals with a world at war with itself and how humans fight one another over trivial things. Geralt and Ciri are in the thick of it, with everyone trying to find Ciri at one point or another for varying reasons. Cavill has expressed love for video games in the past, having infamously ignored a casting call to play World of Warcraft at one point, and The Witcher seems incredibly appropriate for him when nothing seems to be going on with Superman.
In the 90’s, The Witcher was adapted for Polish TV, then known as The Hexer or Wiedzmin. It was… not received well at all. Author Andrzej Sapkowski has written eight books in the series – the two collections of short stories, The Last Wish and Sword of Destiny, that set up the main saga that starts with Blood of Elves and culminates in Lady of the Lake. In 2013, Sapkowski released Season of Storms, a story that takes place in between the earlier short stories. Currently, he is working on another story set in the Witcher-universe.
The Witcher franchise exploded in popularity with the release of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Though not canonical, the games take place following the end of the books and have exposed millions to the characters of Geralt, Ciri, and many others. The Netflix series, however, will acknowledge only the books and draw from them directly.
The Witcher does not currently have a release date, but all sources point towards this winter for the eight episode season to drop. Keep your eyes peeled.
