@TravMoody
THE WITCHER (Friday – Hall H) – Slow your roll, geeks. We hear you! You played and delved into 100+ hours of one of the very best RPG video games of all time: CD Projekt RED’s The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt.
That was Witcher 3. This new adaptation, a Netflix Original, is ready to launch its debut season. Not everything is going to line up one-to-one; hell, this panel cites the Andrzej Sapkowski’s fantasy novels as its primary source of inspiration– while Henry Cavill, the Geralt of Steel himself, also dove deep into the games.
You could tell too, as it wasn’t difficult to be impressed with Cavill’s Witcher knowledge. At the Hall H panel the former Superman shared plenty of thoughts on Geralt of Rivia’s moral agenda and persona dichotomy. The Witcher’s “very hard on the exterior because that’s how he thinks the world is– [despite the fact that] there’s this man who has a belief of what the world can be.” Cavill later added that there was hardly a moment on set where he didn’t find a sword in his hand.
But Cavill knows that Geralt isn’t Geralt without his trusty horse, Roach. “[She’s] more than just a horse, and more than just a fine horse for some of you, as well. [Roach] is the one source of humanity left in the world– an anchor to Geralt’s honest and true self.”
Things aren’t going to be so easy for Cavill’s co-stars either. Freya Allan plays gamer favorite Ceri, albeit a vastly different Ceri than the grown gal we just played with in The Wild Hunt. Allan’s version is younger, appears far more haunted and mystical. The actress recalls her Ceri being “constantly in flux throughout the season”, with her prominent story theme is seeing the good in other people.
Anya Chalotra takes on the role of Yennefer, who looks and comes off really awesome in the panel footage, particularly in one monologue scene on the beach with a dead baby. Her Yennefer intends to find “a true connection and the unconditional love which she never experienced.”
Showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich wanted the audience to showcase other characters through a different lense than just Geralt’s. While the Netflix series honors the books and source material, the series aims to give these characters more breathing room.
While whether the Netflix version will fill the appetites of the zillion gamers who’ve embraced Geralt, Ceri and Yennefer’s journey remains to be seen, the trailer looks red hot and the motivation behind the adaptation can certainly give us great hope for the release later this year. 3.75/5 Bibles.
-Travis Moody