SDCC: ‘The Witcher’ photo, trailer reveals Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia

News from San Diego Comic-Con includes the first look at Netflix’s The Witcher, which revealed Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia. Check out the trailer below.

Netflix continues to spend to find a new big series like Stranger Things to keep the platform afloat and they’ve tapped the Man of Steel star and now gives fans a big first look.

“The myth is that [Witchers] have no emotions,” Cavill said. “That serves them when it comes to negotiating for coin.” However, Geralt’s harsh exterior is just him reflecting the harsh world around him. “Deep down, there’s a belief in what the world can be.”

“I’m a big gamer, I played the games a lot, many many hours put into that,” Cavill said. “There was something about Geralt that struck a chord with me. He’s not your average hero.”

“…I read The Last Witch and I absolutely fell in love with the short stories,” showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich said of her past experience with The Witcher.

Cavill told the audience that he tried to do as many of his own stunts as possible and practiced nonstop with his swords. “I spent all of my free time with a sword in my hand,” he said, learning how to handle the weight and get fully comfortable with his weapon.

There were a few clips played for the Hall H crowd, the first being Geralt battling a few guards with ease, before the queen looks on from the head of her table, angry about the situation, the arming herself and leaping into the fight.

Next came footage of Yennefer (Anya Chalotra), a powerful mage on a quest of self-discovery, on the beach at sunset, a dead infant on the ground next to her, monologuing to the corpse, apologizing for the situation, but also suggesting she may be better off dying young than growing up in a world. Yennefer then buries the body in the sand.

The third clip was Ciri (Freya Allan) wandering through the woods, looking for someone as she follows whispers into a fog, a mysterious cave filled with orange light. Suddenly, she’s surrounded on all sides by spear-wielding elves, speaking a different language as they size each other up.

The cast includes Freya Allan as Ciri, Anya Chalotra as Yennefer, Jodhi May as Calanthe, Björn Hlynur Haraldsson as Eist, Adam Levy as Mousesack, MyAnna Buring as Tissaia, Mimi Ndiweni as Fringilla, Therica Wilson-Read as Sabrina, and Millie Brady as Renfri.

Based on the fantasy series of novels and short stories by Andrzej Sapkowski, Netflix’s The Witcher will follow the monster slayer for hire named Geralt of Rivia. Hissrich will also serve as an executive producer on the series while Alik Sakharov, Alex Garcia Lopez, and Charlotte Brändström are on board as directors for the eight-episode first season.

“I’m thrilled that Netflix will be doing an adaptation of my stories, staying true to the source material and the themes that I have spent over thirty years writing,”  creator Sapkowski said when the show was first announced. “I’m excited about our efforts together, as well as the team assembled to shepherd these characters to life.”

The Witcher debuts on Netflix this year.