Freya Allan (War of the Worlds, Into the Badlands) and Anya Chalotra (The ABC Murders, Wanderlust) have been cast as female leads Ciri and Yennefer opposite Henry Cavill in The Witcher, Netflix’s drama series based on the fantasy saga by Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski.
Allan’s Ciri, Princess of Cintra, will be joined by other characters from the court at Cintra including Queen Calanthe (Jodhi May, Game of Thrones, Genius) and her husband, the knight Eist (Björn Hlynur Haraldsson, Fortitude), along with the druid Mousesack (Adam Levy, Knightfall, Snatch).
Leading the magical academy at Aretuza is Tissaia (MyAnna Buring, Ripper Street, Kill List), and Yennefer is joined by other novice sorcerers Fringilla (Mimi Ndiweni, Black Earth Rising), Sabrina (Therica Wilson-Read, Profile). Also joining the cast is Millie Brady (The Last Kingdom, Teen Spirit) as the outcast Princess Renfri.
The Witcher is an epic tale of fate and family. Geralt of Rivia (Cavill), 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.
Remaining cast will be announced soon.
Lauren Schmidt Hissrich (Marvel’s Daredevil, The Umbrella Academy) serves as writer, executive producer and showrunner of the series, which was announced last year.
“Casting The Witcher has been one of the biggest projects of my career and undoubtedly the most exciting,” said Hissrich. “I can’t wait for these wonderful actors to bring such iconic and loved characters to life on screen and to share these special stories with viewers all over the world.”
Set as directors of the series are Alik Sakharov (House of Cards, Game of Thrones), who will helm a total of four episodes including the first one and also will serve as executive producer, and Alex Garcia Lopez (Marvel’s Luke Cage, Fear the Walking Dead) and Charlotte Brändström (Outlander, Counterpart), who will direct two episodes each.
Known collectively as the Witcher Saga, Sapkowski’s eight novels and story collections center on “witchers” – hunters who develop supernatural abilities at a young age to battle deadly monsters. The books have been translated into more than 20 languages and have since spawned a major video game franchise.
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