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Casting has begun for Netflix’s ‘The Witcher’ Series

By June 29, 2018Literature

The Witcher is a fantasy series written by Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski which follows a monster slayer named Geralt of Rivia as he travels the lands in search of work, whilst often becoming embroiled in political intrigue, daring adventures, and all out war. Like George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series, The Witcher includes elements of fantasy, but is very much steeped in a gritty realism where the characters aren’t black and white, the monsters aren’t necessarily evil, and good doesn’t always win.

Though well received in Poland, Sapkowski’s books didn’t receive world wide recognition until a game developer called CD Projekt RED adapted his fantasy world into a series of video games which were met with critical acclaim. This fame saw many overseas fans checking out the original books, which have now been translated into English.

It was then announced last year that Netflix had bought the rights to create a TV series of The Witcher. Fans have speculated since then who will play the beloved characters, and now it looks like the casting process has begun. Writing for the pilot episode is apparently completely finished and now the show has begun auditioning actors.

As Comic Book reports, one of the show’s writers, Lauren S. Hissrich, took to Twitter to post a picture of the script and to tease fans about who might be cast. “Let’s talk casting. Yes, I said the magic word!” She wrote. “Casting is starting soon, and no, I can’t tell you who our top picks are so don’t ask. But. There is something very important you need to know.”

She went on to say that, because of the huge amount of interest in the series, the scenes actors will be auditioning with will be made up specifically for the audition and not scenes taken from what will be in the final show.

“Normally, when casting a show, the casting director pulls character-specific scenes from the pilot script for actors’ auditions. However, because we’re casting internationally (which means lots of emails and self-tapes) and because we know by now the internet keeps no secrets,” she began, “the writing staff has instead created entirely new scenes for our main characters. These are written to illustrate the precise tone, vibe, depth, and emotional resonance we need from Geralt and friends… but voila! They are spoiler-free, for us and for you.”

She added, “Which means if you start seeing Witcher scenes floating around the internet in the coming weeks — yes, they’re probably real! But no, they won’t give anything away as to the stories we’re telling, or the ways we’re telling them. You’re safe. For now. And hells yes, his name is Jaskier.”

There are no doubt many fans out there who will be eager to see who is cast in Netflix’s adaptation, but there will also be a great deal of pressure on the show to live up to the quality of the books and the games.



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