Netflix has released the first teaser for its hotly-anticipated adaptation of the fantasy series ‘The Witcher‘ at San Diego Comic-Con on Friday. The first look gives the fans of the popular fantasy book series a glimpse into the world of the titular monster hunter Geralt of Rivia played by Henry Cavill. The clip also introduces other major characters such as Anya Cholatra as Yennefer and Freya Allan as Ciri.
The 1-minute 59-second teaser opens up into the fictional world of The Continent where Cavill apparently grapples with his inner demons and monsters cut loose in the outside world. The rest of the randomly handpicked shots shape into a pattern that reveals Cavill’s adventurous life full of monsters, money and swords.
Based on the best selling book series by Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski, ‘The Witcher’ centers on the land of The Continent which is a melting pot of monsters, Witchers, gnomes, humans, and elves, who clash each other for survival.
Witchers are a race of monster hunters originated from demons who invaded The Continent from another dimension. The plot follows the rugged Witcher Geralt (Cavill), sorceress Yennefer (Anya Chalotra) and the mysterious young Ciri (Freya Allan). The trio forms an unlikely family in the course of events that take them to unexpected places while fighting deadly battles on morally ambiguous grounds, which makes it difficult for the viewers to distinguish between heroes and villains.
“These three characters — Geralt, Yennefer, and Ciri — really rose to the surface, showrunner Lauren Schmidt told EW. “If you take all the other fantasy elements away, you take the magic and story and violence and sex away, you still have three characters who are this broken disjointed family who really need each other even though they don’t want to admit it. And that was one of the most appealing things to me.
Billed as one of Netflix’s dark horses after HBO’s post-Game of Thrones era, ‘The Witcher’ is created by Lauren Schmidt Hissrich, who is known for ‘Parenthood, ‘The West Wing’ and ‘Daredevil.’ The author of the original book series, Sapkowski serves as a creative consultant. The book series had previous live-action adaptation titled ‘The Hexer’ and a series of role-playing video games under the same title and premises.
Along with Cavill, Chalotra and Allan, the upcoming Netflix series stars Jodhi May as Calanthe, Björn Hlynur Haraldsson as Eist, Adam Levy as Mousesack, MyAnna Buring as Tissaia, Mimi Ndiweni as Fringilla, Therica Wilson-Read as Sabrina, Emma Appleton as Renfri, Eamon Farren as Cahir, Joey Batey as Jaskier, Lars Mikkelsen as Stregobor, Royce Pierreson as Istredd, Maciej Musiał as Sir Lazlo, Wilson Radjou-Pujalte as Dara, and Anna Shaffer as Triss.
No premiere date has been set for the series yet. Check out the first teaser for the Netflix original series ‘The Witcher’ below.
Cover Image Courtesy: Netflix.