The Witcher just premiered on Netflix, starring Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia. Cavill is still best known to many (if not most) fans as Superman. The Witcher showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich knows many Netflix users will be tuning in with knowledge of the source material, but others will just be Henry Cavill fans wanting to see him in something very different -- especially since his future in the DCEU seems up-in-the-air.
The Witcher boss Lauren Schmidt Hissrich praised Henry Cavill's work ethic and leadership, and basically everything else about him, telling Collider she hopes Cavill's DC fans tune in to see what else he can do:
His passion and his desire to do Geralt justice, that’s all you want from an actor. In addition, Henry’s a real leader, and that’s something that you need, on a show of this size and scope. That person who is number one on the call sheet, needs to be looked up to and needs to be a leader of the cast and the crew, and that’s something else that Henry embodies. He has the best work ethic of anyone I’ve ever met, and he is kind and polite and respectful, to no end. He really sets the tone on set, and that’s another amazing thing. I don’t think of him as Henry Cavill, the movie star. I realize that there are a lot of people who are like, 'Oh, my god, Superman!' That’s great. If you wanna come see what else Superman can do, wonderful. That’s great for us.
Sounds like Henry Cavill was a real-life Superman on The Witcher Season 1 set. That's good news, since he could be on The Witcher for a long time. Showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich told CinemaBlend she hopes to make seven (or maybe 20) seasons. Season 2 is already in the planning stages.
The Witcher has a lot of new stars in the mix, including Anya Chalotra, who talked to CinemaBlend about Yennefer's transformation. Lauren Schmidt Hissrich told Collider it made for a great mix with a star like Henry Cavill as the lead:
There’s a lot of newcomers on this show. Both Freya Allan and Anya Chalotra are seasoned actors that haven’t done a lot of television, and this was very new to them. So, be able to have Henry’s name, and people recognize his name and go like, 'I’m gonna see what he’s doing next,' and then get those viewers to have a broadened vision of our show and the other actors in it, it’s amazing.
The Witcher executive producer Tomek Baginski previously talked about Henry Cavill's deep commitment to playing Geralt.
The Witcher is based on the book saga by Andrzej Sapkowski, who is a big fan of Henry Cavill and the show so far. However, the show is making some key changes from the books. Lauren Schmidt Hissrich told Collider Cavill is a huge fan of the video games and that's the first thing that attracted him to The Witcher.
He’s quite a gamer. When he found out that Netflix was making a series based on the books, that was his first time he learned that there were books, and he went out and bought all of them and read them, in quick succession. So, Henry, to me, was a huge fan. Aside from being a big movie star, he was a fan of the franchise that I was adapting, and that is of big benefit to me because he’s coming in with his own ideas.
So far, so good for The Witcher? Critics' reviews seem to be mixed, with a lot of comparisons to Game of Thrones, even though that's not what the team wants to hear. Stream the eight episodes of The Witcher Season 1 now on Netflix. Are you excited to see more in Season 2 or are you worried that so much Geralt means less time for Henry Cavill to ever return as Superman?
