The next Game of Thrones?
Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia in Netflix’s The Witcher
Photo Credit: Netflix
At San Diego Comic-Con 2019, Netflix released the first teaser trailer for Henry Cavill-starrer The Witcher, its live-action series adaptation of Andrzej Sapkowski's book series of the same name, which is well known for its award-winning video game series adaptation. The Witcher trailer gives us a look at the central characters and the world of the show, which includes Witchers (naturally), Elves, and lots of chaos. It hints at an “extraordinary” child, a powerful sorceress, and provides glimpses of war. The trailer has a Game of Thrones meets Lord of the Rings feel to it.
Created by Lauren Schmidt Hissrich (Daredevil, The Defenders) — who also serves as the showrunner — The Witcher is about “Geralt of Rivia (Cavill), a solitary monster hunter who struggles to find his place in a world where people often prove more wicked than beasts.” The main cast of The Witcher season 1 also includes Freya Allan (The War of the Worlds) as Ciri, Princess of Cintra, and Anya Chalotra (The ABC Murders) as the sorceress Yennefer of Vengerberg.
Jodhi May (The Last of the Mohicans) plays Ciri's grandmother, Queen Calanthe, and Björn Hlynur Haraldsson (Fortitude) is Calanthe's husband King Eist. The Witcher series also stars Adam Levy (Knightfall) as the druid Mousesack, MyAnna Buring (Ripper Street) as Tissaia, Mimi Ndiweni (Black Earth Rising) as Fringilla, Therica Wilson-Read (Profile) as Sabrina, and Emma Appleton (Traitors) as the outcast Princess Renfri. Lars Mikkelsen (The Killing) will have a recurring role as the wizard Stregobor.
Per reported estimates, The Witcher season 1 cost about $70-80 million (about Rs. 481-550 crores), which brings it to an average of $10 million (about Rs. 68.8 crores) per episode. (There are eight episodes in the first season.) That puts it on par with the middle seasons of Game of Thrones, which started off with $50-60 million (about Rs. 344-412 crores) and grew to over $100 million (about Rs. 688 crores) by the end. It's an expensive bet for Netflix, and with its medieval adult fantasy approach, The Witcher is clearly aiming to be the next Game of Thrones. It's far from the only one.
Here's the official description for The Witcher series, from Netflix:
“Based on the best-selling fantasy series, The Witcher is an epic tale of fate and family. Geralt of Rivia, a solitary monster hunter, struggles to find his place in a world where people often prove more wicked than beasts. But when destiny hurtles him toward a powerful sorceress, and a young princess with a dangerous secret, the three must learn to navigate the increasingly volatile Continent together.”
The Witcher is out in late 2019 on Netflix.
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