After playing the iconic and instantly recognizable Superman for three films, Henry Cavill moved on to a completely different kind of project, Netflix's episodic adaptation of Andrzej Sapkowski's The Witcher novels and stories. The dark fantasy adventure series kicked off its central production today, and Netflix was apparently eager to give everyone a quick taste of what to expect: some long-haired Henry.
I'm left with some pretty good first impressions after seeing this first look. For one, this whole long-haired warrior get-up jibes with Henry Cavill far better than I would have expected. The low lighting probably helps, as does the fact that no one needed to remove any of his facial hair via CGI.
Speaking of facial hair, Henry Cavill's smooth chin has gotten quite a bit of attention in the time since the image first went up. Several people are clamoring for the actor to sport a beard; understandable, since it's an oft-worn look for quasi-historical settings. There's also always something strange about seeing consistently clean-shaven people living in times before multi-bladed razors.
In any case, others pointed out that Cavill's novel character Geralt of Rivia is not always so fond of growing a beard. As well, even if this is how Geralt looks on the show's first day of filming, the pale protagonist could always look quite different once The Witcher actually comes out and all of the visuals are perfected and the story moves through time.
More proof that this is probably an early take on the character is the fact that Henry Cavill doesn't have Geralt's signature scar curving across the left side of his face. Whether or not that means we'll see him suffer that wound in the first place, it's unclear. But what is clear is that the TV series does need to get to that point before fans start rioting.
From a "hot take" perspective, Henry Cavill basically looks like a Game of Thrones character who serves as the front man for a tribute band with dueling inspirations of Lord of the Rings' Legolas and Hobbit's Thranduil. The Witcher does boast a former Game of Thrones cinematographer and director, so that part fits. There probably aren't any fictional character-based musical acts roaming the countrysides, though.
Henry Cavill will be rocking that look throughout The Witcher's Continent, the monster-strewn land that Cavill's Butcher of Blaviken will be trekking across. Beyond watching him putting the hurt on mythological beasts, audiences will also see Geralt's developing relationship with the sorceress Yennefer, to be played by Anya Chalotra. The princess Ciri, who factors quite heavily into Geralt and Yennefer's lives, will be portrayed by Freya Allen.
Since things are just starting to take off for The Witcher, Netflix hasn't yet made moves to set a specific release date yet. But fans can possibly expect to find all eight episodes hitting the streaming service in late 2019 or early 2020. Feel free to play the video game series in the meantime, though probably skip the previous live-action adaptations.
While waiting, don't fall behind on all the great shows left to hit Netflix in 2018, as well as all of the new and returning shows in the traditional fall TV schedule.
