Netflix’s Witcher TV Show Will Star Superman’s Henry Cavill As Geralt

Mission Impossible: Fallout actor Henry Cavill will star in the upcoming adaptation of The Witcher. The actor, also known for playing Superman in DC’s movies, hinted last month that he would like to play Geralt in the Netflix show. Now the streaming giant has confirmed that he will indeed take on the role.

Cavill will play Geralt in the eight-part show, which is based on the fantasy novel series written by Andrzej Sapkowski, on which the games are also based. Sapkowski is set to work on the English language drama series as a creative consultant.

The star gave fans the first clue that he was in line for the role in August. IGN asked him about other projects he would like to be involved in, and he expressed his love of the Witcher games. “Love that game. Really good game,” he said. Cavill was then asked specifically about playing the lead character of Geralt in Netflix’s adaptation. “Absolutely,” he said. “Yeah, that would be an amazing role.” Cavill also dropped some hints when he reposted fan art imagining him in the role on Instagram.

The show is being developed by Lauren S. Hissrich, who previously worked on Daredevil, The Defenders, and the upcoming Netflix drama Umbrella Academy. The show was announced in May, but it is not expected to hit the service until 2020. “We’re moving quickly ahead with everything–like, my head is spinning around Exorcist-style, except with enthusiasm, not evil possession–but one thing is certain: quality comes before speed,” Hissrich said at the time.

A Polish TV series based on The Witcher aired in 2002, but that has been the only adaptation of the franchise for TV so far. A Witcher movie with some big-name talent behind it was was announced for 2017, but that never happened.

As for the Witcher game series, the newest instalment was 2015’s The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. No new projects in the series have been announced, and developer CD Projekt Red is now working on the much-anticipated Cyberpunk 2077.