Step aside, Jon Snow. Geralt has arrived.
Netflix has dropped the first trailer forThe Witcher, the streaming service’s long-awaited adaptation ofAndrzej Sapkowski’s fantasy novels. The short video, which debuted at the 2019 edition ofComic-Con International, offers fans their first look atHenry Cavillas the title character, Geralt of Rivia, and quickly establishes the rules ofThe Witcher‘s monster-filled world.
As the trailer describes, elves and humans used to live in harmony inThe Witcher‘s fantasy realm, known as The Continent, until the elves decided to teach humanity how to use magic — a favor that men repaid by killing the elves off. Now, monsters roam the land, and monster hunters called Witchers must take them down to keep the people safe.
In addition to Cavill’s Geralt, the trailer also features Anya Chalotra as Yennifer, a powerful sorceress and Geralt’s longtime girlfriend, and Freya Allan asPrincess Ciri. From the look of things,The Witcher‘s first season will hew pretty closely to the plot summary leaked in casting notices, which claimed that the three characters will be “bound together by destiny, often against their will,” as Geralt and Yennifer realize that Ciri “might just destroy the world.”
Netflix’s series will probably draw less on the novels’ video game spinoffs, which helped transformThe Witcherfrom a niche European fantasy series into a worldwide phenomenon. WhileThe Witcher 3: Wild Huntclaimed many Game of the Year awards following its 2015 release, the books, which take place earlier, are the series’ primary source material.
In an interview withEntertainment Weekly,The Witcherproducer Lauren Hissrich downplayed the show’s similarities toGame of Thrones, although she acknowledged that HBO’s megahit helped pave the way for the new series. “Game of Thrones… showed the world that fantasy wasn’t just for a niche audience and fantasy could be acceptable for everyone,” Hissrich said.
Still, it’s hard not to see some similarities between the two. LikeGame of Thrones,The Witchertakes place in a dark, grimy land where humans are just as dangerous as supernatural creatures, and where prophecies and spells collide with politics and social upheaval. Still, there’s one big difference:Game of Thronesonly hadWhite Walkers, a few giants, and a trio of dragons, whileThe Witcheris chock-full of monsters. We wouldn’t have it any other way.
