After some confusion over a tweet about upcoming Netflix series The Witcher, the streamer has revealed that no official premiere date has been announced. Based on the book series by Andrzej Sapkowski, The Witcher is a fantasy series that focuses on Geralt of Rivia. Geralt is a monster hunter and one of the last witchers left on the Continent. The series is made up of both books and short stories and has been adapted for film, TV, comic books, and video games in the past. The Witcher is especially popular in Poland and other parts of Europe, as Sapkowski is Polish.
Netflix first announced their adaptation of the popular series in May 2017. Later that year, showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich relieved some fans on Twitter by saying that, "There will be no watering down [the source material]." After almost a full year without any big news regarding the project, Netflix announced that Henry Cavill had been cast as Geralt. However, fans had a mixed reaction to his casting, prompting Hissrich to weigh in on how right he was for the part. The Witcher wrapped production on season 1 earlier this summer, with Cavill celebrating his last day in Geralt's wig on Instagram. The first season will be 8 episodes.
The Witcher made news earlier this week with a since deleted Netflix tweet. In it, the streamer stated there were "97 sleeps" until The Witcher premiere, placing it on December 17. However, according to CBR, today a representative for Netflix said that "The launch date for The Witcher has not yet been confirmed." The representative went on to explain that "The post was made by Netflix accounts in the Netherlands in error, and not all of the information contained in it is accurate/final." Netflix previously confirmed that the series would debut at some point in the last three months of this year.
Though the premiere of The Witcher may be a few months off, fans have already gotten a look at the series. Netflix shared some test footage of Cavill in character as Geralt nearly a year ago. They also revealed first look images of Freya Allan as Princess Ciri and Anya Chalotra as Yennefer of Vengerberg, two key figures in the books. Netflix also relieved viewers by sharing a photo of Geralt with his silver sword, something that fans were worried may be left out from the series. The first trailer for the show dropped at this year's San Diego Comic-Con during the series' panel in Hall H. It remains the most complete look fans have gotten at The Witcher so far.
Though Netflix didn't confirm December 17 as the official release date of The Witcher, the wording of "accurate/final" in their statement could mean something. It may indicate that December 17 is a possible release date, but that several around that time are also being considered. With so many original shows now on the streaming service, Netflix has to be even more careful than it once was about dropping shows when they'll make the most impact. Though, regardless of when The Witcher debuts, fans should be excited to see the long-awaited adaptation on their screens.
Source: CBR