The long awaited television adaptation of The Witcher series of books by Andrzej Sapkowski (and critically acclaimed video game franchise) has had some controversial casting rumours and confirmations of late.
The actor playing our emotionless, sign wielding, witcher Geralt has been confirmed as Superman actor Henry Caville. This casting choice has been met with mixed responses. Whilst Caville’s acting prowess has never been doubted, his role as Hollywood’s handsome, perfect, strongman very much conflicts with the rugged, harsh physical and mental state Geralt encompasses. This problem can be easily fixed, depending on the makeup budget of the streaming service that will air the show, hopefully aging and roughening Caville’s look tenfold.
The other, very much debated, casting choice is that of Geralt’s adopted daughter Ciri. In the games and the novels Ciri is presented as pale-skinned with Daenerys Targaryen style silver hair. However, reports on the casting call for a character matching Ciri’s description suggests that they are looking for a young BAME female.
Many have come out against this, suggesting that Ciri’s heritage in the show should match the novel’s adherence to Polish folklore and their native tradition. However, others have suggested that it simply does not matter, and calls for Ciri to simply be white is bigoted and racist. Since the casting call was discovered there have been differing reports on whether the call was actually for Ciri or was instead for an original BAME character, though nothing regarding this has since been confirmed.
