The Witcher Trailer: Henry Cavill Faces Monsters of Our Own Design in Netflix’s Epic

With both the prequel series Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance and the adaptation of The Witcher videogames and book series, Netflix is leaning hard into the fantasy genre. And to that we say: finally! There has been much discussion of Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia in The Witcher (Is he perhaps too pretty? Is there too much Legolas in that hair design?) but the trailer released today at San Diego Comic Con should quell those concerns. Cavill is stoic, battle-worn and hot as all hell. 404: No problems detected.

However, for those unfamiliar with the story of the Witcher, the trailer was a bit convoluted. The production values are outstanding, but the plotting is something of a question mark. Netflix is also clearly just saying “Hey, you liked Game of Thrones? Here’s this!” Basically, the series looks big and messy and may fall prey to other videogame adaptations in trying to please entrenched fans first and newbies last, but of course all of that remains to be seen. For now, enjoy the pure spectacle of The Witcher in the teaser below:

Here’s the full synopsis for The Witcher:

Based on the best-selling fantasy series of books, THE WITCHER is an epic tale of fate and family.  Be among the first to get the exclusive scoop on the highly anticipated new Netflix original series centering around famed monster hunter, Geralt of Rivia. Be introduced to the world of The Continent, where humans, elves, witchers, gnomes, and monsters battle to survive and thrive, and where good and evil is not easily identified.

Henry Cavill (Mission Impossible – Fallout, Justice League) leads the cast of The Witcher saga, playing the role of Geralt of Rivia, alongside other main cast members,  Anya Chalotra (The ABC Murders, Wanderlust) as Yennefer and Freya Allan (The War of the Worlds, Into The Badlands) as Ciri.  Other previously announced cast include Jodhi May (Game of Thrones, Genius) as Calanthe, Björn Hlynur Haraldsson (Fortitude) as Eist, Adam Levy (Knightfall, Snatch) as Mousesack, MyAnna Buring (Ripper Street, Kill List) as Tissaia), Mimi Ndiweni (Black Earth Rising) as Fringilla, Therica Wilson-Read (Profile) as Sabrina, and Emma Appleton (The End of The F**king World) as Renfri, Eamon Farren (The ABC Murders, Twin Peaks) as Cahir, Joey Batey (Knightfall, Strike) as Jaskier, Lars Mikkelsen (House of Cards, Sherlock) as Stregobor, Royce Pierreson (Wanderlust, Judy) as Istredd, Maciej Musia? (1983) as Sir Lazlo, Wilson Radjou-Pujalte (Jamillah & Aladdin, Dickensian) as Dara, and Anna Shaffer (Harry Potter) as Triss.