Netflix’s Witcher TV series gets a super leading man in Henry Cavill

Having expressed interest in the role only a month ago, Superman actor Henry Cavill has now officially signed on to play the lead in Netflix's upcoming TV adaptation of The Witcher.

The Hollywood heavyweight will of course play the monster hunter Geralt of Rivia, whose journey in the series will see him fight alongside two strong women in Yennefer, a powerful sorceress, and Ciri, the sole princess of Cintra. Both of the latter roles have yet to be cast.

Netflix's announcement states that Cavill is a "massive fan of Andrzej Sapkowski’s series of fantasy short stories and novels", which the show is said to be based closely on.

Supes takes a bath

The show will consist of eight episodes, with the first episode and three others directed by Alik Sakharov (House of Cards, Game of Thrones), and the rest directed by Alex Garcia Lopez (Marvel’s Luke Cage, Utopia) and Charlotte Brändström (Outlander, Counterpart, Disparue).

Lauren Schmidt Hissrich (Marvel’s Daredevil, Marvel’s The Defenders, Umbrella Academy) will act as showrunner and executive producer of the series.

Sapkowski’s stories have also inspired a series of beloved video games by Polish developer CD Projekt Red.

While the author told Eurogamer Poland that he admires the games, he also stated that he doesn't consider them canon and that "in no way can [they] be considered to be an 'alternative version', nor a 'sequel' to the witcher Geralt stories. Because this can only be told by Geralt's creator. A certain Andrzej Sapkowski."