Geralt of Rivia may not like to take sides, but Henry Cavill, star of Netflix’s The Witcher, proclaimed his loyalty to PC gaming over consoles in a recent interview. While it may not seem like Cavill would have much time for video games given his busy career, he’s expressed his love of gaming before, including his excitement over being cast in The Witcher.
The Witcher franchise has been around for a long time, with the first short stories starring Geralt appearing in the 1980's. The series took on new life when CD Projekt Red released The Witcher in 2007, but it was with The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt in 2015 that the series rocketed to its current status as a pop culture phenomenon. The Witcher 3 was successful enough to help CD Projekt Red fund the massively ambitious Cyberpunk 2077, and rumors of a follow-up game in the franchise, a The Witcher 4, have recently begun circulating. The game's popularity, in part thanks to decades of well-developed storylines and spectacular swordplay, made it a natural fit for a TV adaptation, even if reactions to Cavill’s casting announcement were mixed.
Despite some initial skepticism from fans, Cavill proved more than suited to the job of portraying the gravelly-voiced monster slayer Geralt, not least of all because he’s been a fan of The Witcher 3 since well before he was cast for the show. In a recent interview with NME, he even revealed his favorite way to play. Asked by a reporter if he prefers PlayStation or Xbox, Cavill quickly goes with a third option, declaring himself a long-time PC gamer. According to Cavill, his father got him into PC gaming as a child, and it’s still his platform of choice. He also says that while he’s bought custom-built PCs in the past, he hasn’t taken the leap to making his own, but that he’d like to try it “as soon as [he finds] the time and the bravery.”
It seems unlikely Cavill will find himself with an abundance of free time in the near future. The Witcher has already been picked up for a second season on Netflix in 2021, with Cavill reprising his role as the leading mutant. If that’s not enough to put the brakes on Cavill’s gaming pastime, he also recently said that he hopes to continue playing Superman in the DCEU films even with more Witcher shoots on the horizon.
It’s not uncommon for actors to suddenly declare themselves huge fans of the source material when cast in an adaptation, but Cavill’s gamer credentials are pretty firmly established. His enthusiasm for The Witcher is well-known and he’s not shy about sharing his love of gaming, either. Even though it may be a while before Cavill has enough time on his hands to build a PC of his own, he should feel a little braver knowing that he can afford to replace a few broken components thanks to the success of The Witcher.
Source: NME