Are you ready to get on the hype train with me? Because the very much anticipated Netflix series based on The Witcher is set for release on December 20th. Get ready to binge on this bad boy.
I have to admit I was skeptical on Henry Cavill’s casting originally, but the more I see him as the steely Geralt, the more I’m buying it. It looks like they’ve really put their full Netflix budget behind this one too, looking like one of the more elaborate productions we’ve seen since Altered Carbon.
The Witcher TV series takes all of its inspiration from Sapkowski’s series of books instead of the action RPG series from CD Projekt Red that we know and love. That being said, it looks like the series is going to have some cheeky nods to the video game where possible; even the trailer above highlights Geralt in a bathtub, reminiscent of the opening in the Witcher 3 that has spawned memes everywhere. So, you know, they’ve nailed the important stuff.
Lauren Schmidt Hissrich is overseeing the series, best known for her other Netflix work on The Umbrella Academy and The Defenders. She recently told Entertainment Weekly that her show purposely strays away from the video games.
“They went one direction, we actually get to go another,” Hissrich said. “We’re kind of holding close to our chest what we’re doing in the first season.” This means the show isn’t going to fall into traps that other videogame-to-movie adaptations fall into, where gamers complain about the source material not being close enough and non-gamers are left confused without context. The Witcher Netflix series could indeed be a big hit with anyone looking to fill the Game of Thrones sized void left in their heart.
We’ve been spending a lot of time with Geralt on the Nintendo Switch with the recent The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Complete Edition – keep an eye out for our thoughts on it soon.
The Witcher debuts on Netflix on December 20th – mark it in your calendars and allocate that weekend for a binge-fest to get you in the Xmas spirit.
About the Author
Luke Mitchell
he/him
Luke spends his time making radio, playing video games, binge-watching TV, getting unreasonably invested in wrestling, hosting bear events and hanging out with his beautiful pets.
