While doing press for MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FALLOUT last month, actor Henry Cavill revealed that he is a fan of the The Witcher video game series, and that he would "absolutely" be interested in taking on the "amazing role" of monster hunter Geralt of Rivia in the live action series based on the games that's being developed by Lauren Schmidt Hissrich for Netflix.
It's not clear whether Cavill had already been contacted about the role at that point; if not, Netflix and Hissrich must have reached out to him immediately after that interview was posted, because it has been announced the Cavill is now officially signed on to play Geralt of Rivia in the series.
The first season of The Witcher will consist of eight episodes that will tell
an epic tale of fate and family. Geralt of Rivia, a solitary monster hunter, struggles to find his place in a world where people often prove more wicked than beasts. But when destiny hurtles him toward a powerful sorceress, and a young princess with a dangerous secret, the three must learn to navigate the increasingly volatile Continent together.
Hissrich serves as showrunner and is executive producing the series with Alik Sakharov, who will be directing four episodes, including the first one. The other four will be split between Alex Garcia Lopez and Charlotte Brändström, with each of them directing two episodes.
I've never played The Witcher, I've barely even been aware that these games exist, but this series sounds interesting and I've been hoping that FALLOUT would be the start of Cavill getting better roles outside of his Superman commitments. This appears to be another step in that happening.
A fan put together an image of what Cavill could look like as Geralt of Rivia: