Man of Steel actor cast as Geralt in Netflix’s Witcher series

Netflix’ s upcoming Witcher series, based on the best-selling Witcher series of novels by Andrzej Sapkowski, has finally cast its lead actor. Henry Cavill, known for his roles as Superman in the recent DC comics films, as well as a major role in the recent Mission Impossible: Fallout, will play the witcher Geralt of Rivia in the upcoming series. Cavill announced the casting on his Instagram page.

The Witcher series will be primarily based on the original Witcher novels, rather than the highly popular video game trilogy. In the Witcher books and games, Geralt of Rivia is a legendary mutated monster hunter known as a Witcher. The book series follows his adventures, as well as his encounters with his large supporting cast. The novels were written in Polish, but have steadily been translated and acquired an English-speaking fanbase. Aside from announcing that the series will be eight episodes long, we don’t have much more information about the plot or other casting details.

In the video games that many English-speaking fans are familiar with, Geralt is played by Doug Cockle. Cockle, who will be reprising his role as Geralt in Soulcalibur VI, has left quite an impression on fans that Cavill will have to compete with. According to showrunner Lauren S. Hissrich, Cavill was her first choice for the role.

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.

— Lauren S. Hissrich (@LHissrich) September 4, 2018

Cavill, who has expressed his passion for the series, has shown a strong dramatic range across his many performances. Hopefully the series will be a solid adaptation that will do justice to the source material. The series has been in development for about a year, but we have no word on a release date as of yet. However, we look forward to hearing more about the show as it develops.