There’s not a lot to go on, but Netflix released a short clip on Twitter of Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia for the upcoming Witcher series set to air in 2019.
Get your first look at Henry Cavill in The Witcher! pic.twitter.com/1O2eWS1MkP
— Netflix US (@netflix) October 31, 2018
The video starts in the dark with Cavill’s Geralt slowly walking toward the camera. He then pauses, looks at the camera, takes out a vial of what can only be assumed is a Witcher potion and drinks it. End of scene. Granted, the marker to start the video says costume and make-up test with the date “October 24, 2018” written at the bottom, so this might not be the final look of Geralt.
While Cavill is wearing dark leather and has long white hair, he doesn’t appear to have any scars on his face. Whether this is intentional (maybe we’ll see him get the scars in the show) or they just didn’t add them, we don’t know. It does look as though he’s wearing contacts as his eyes are a dark yellow. However, his pupils are very much human, not the cat-like slits of a witcher. This, of course, could be something they have to adjust in post production.
Fan reaction to the post on Twitter has been mixed at best. While some are complaining he’s not wearing a beard, others are reminding them he often does not have a beard in the books because he doesn’t like wearing them. This version of Geralt has fans drawing comparisons to Christopher Lambert’s Raiden in the first “Mortal Kombat” movie, as well as Orlando Bloom’s Legolas in the “Lord of the Rings” and “Hobbit” films, and even Jason Isaac’s Lucius Malfoy from the “Harry Potter” franchise.
Some just hate everything about it.
😬 Nope. That wig is horrible! The makeup looks just as bad. I know I’m biased by the video games but I cannot see that man as a witcher – any witcher. & whats with the expression? Is he trying out for a bit part in a straight-to-VHS (not even DVD) vampire flick???
— WhiteRose’s Art (@WhiteRosesArt) October 31, 2018
Fans of the series continue to heap vitriol at showrunner Lauren Hissrich, who feel she is doing the show great injustices, even though the series is still a good year or more away from hitting Netflix streams. Until then, what do you think about the screen test? Let us know in the comments.