Over the last decade,The Witcherfranchise has become one of the most highly regarded series in video games with 2015’sThe Witcher 3: Wild Hunt,which recently came to Nintendo Switch, widely considered as one of the best RPGs of all time. Following the conclusion ofGame of Thronesearlier in the year, it’s no surprise that Netflix is not only looking for the next big fantasy series to take over but thatThe Witcherwould be the perfect fit.
Rather than adapt CD Projekt Red’s popularThe Witchervideo game series, Netflix has looked toward the original source material for inspiration, an eight-part Polish book series that follows the witcher Geralt of Rivia, a beast hunter with supernatural abilities. With abrand new trailer and release datehaving just come out, it’s time to look at everything we know aboutThe WitcherNetflix series so far!
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What is The Witcher Netflix Series?
Originally planned as a film, Vice President International Originals at Netflix, Kelly Luegenbiehl and the producers made the decision to makeThe Witcherinto an ongoing action/fantasy series due to the amount of source material.The Witcheris set to release exclusively on Netflix with an eight-episode first season and is being helmed by showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich, known for working as a writer and producer on other Netflix series includingDaredevilandThe Umbrella Academy. As of right now, no announcement has been made about whetherThe Witcherwill be renewed for a second season.
The Story
Based on the book series of the same name,The Witcherfollows Geralt of Rivia who “struggles to find his place in the world wherepeople often prove more wicked than beasts.” The series takes place in an unknown continent full of mythological creatures, including elves, dwarves, griffins, werewolves, vampires, and more. Geralt is a solitary monster hunter known as a Witcher, described as “beast-hunters” that have developed supernatural powers from a young age in order to combat the monsters.
The official Netflix synopsis reads: “The witcher Geralt, a mutated monster hunter, struggles to find his place in a world where people often prove more wicked than beasts.”
Cast & Characters
The Witchermain cast is fairly extensive with the focus being on three core characters: Geralt of Rivia, Princess Ciri, and Yennefer of Vengerberg. In September 2018, Henry Cavill (Man of Steel, Mission Impossible: Fallout) was announced to play the role of Geralt, followed by Freya Allan (Bluebird) as Ciri, and Anya Chalotra (Wanderlust) as Yennefer in October 20018.
The Witcher’sextended main castincludes Jodhi May (A World Apart) as Queen Calanthe, Björn Hlynur Haraldsson (Fortitude) as King Eist Tuirseach, Adam Levy (A.D. The Bible Continues) as Mousesack, MyAnna Buring (The Descent) as Tissaia de Vries, Mimi Ndiweni (Mr Selfridge) as Fringilla Vigo, Therica Wilson-Read as Sabrina Glevissig, and Emma Appleton as Princess Renfri.
Trailers
Netflix released the first teaser trailer duringSan Diego Comic-con 2019with the tagline, “The worst monsters are the ones we create.”
The first official full-length trailer released earlier this week on Halloween, with the tagline: “You can’t outrun destiny just because you’re terrified of it. Henry Cavill is Geralt of Rivia. The Witcher arrives December 20.
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Release Date
The Witcherdebuts on Netflix on July 14, 2025. While the series was originally planned for 2020, it was eventually moved up to 2019 with the official release date announced on Halloween alongsidethe series “main trailer.“The confirmed release date wasn’t too far off a previously teased date of December 17, following a since-deleted promotional post from the Netflix Netherlands Twitter account.
Principal photography wrapped for the first season in May 2019 with the series filmed throughout Eastern Europe including Budapest and the Canary Islands.The Witcherauthor Andrzej Sapkowski has been confirmed to be working as part of the creative team for series, although to what extent is unknown. “I’m thrilled that Netflix will be doing an adaptation of my stories, staying true to the source material and the themes that I have spent over thirty years writing,” said Sapkowski in a press release with Platige.
Combining the narrative and world-building of the book series and the aesthetic design of the video game franchise is sure to makeThe WitcherNetflix Series appeal to both fans of the games, as well as fantasy shows likeGame of Thrones. And it sure doesn’t hurt to have someone with as much star power asHenry Cavill in the leading role!
