The Witcher Movie Brings Back a Familiar Face (And It's The Perfect Casting)
Even though the animated Geralt is as broad as Cavill, he is voiced by a legendary veteran of the franchise.
Summary
- Although live-action is rapidly losing popularity, Netflix continues to develop The Witcher franchise.
- As such, the streaming service has announced the release of a new animated movie.
- It will match the series, and especially Liam Hemsworth's Geralt, as this time the witcher will be voiced by fan favorite Doug Cockle.
Netflix continues to bet big on the development of The Witcher franchise. The show, however, is getting less popular with each season, but that doesn't stop the streaming giant from announcing more and more spin-offs in an effort to win the hearts of the saga's fans. Nightmare of the Wolf, a prequel that tells the story of Vesemir's younger years, was far more warmly received than the third season of the live-action series.
The Witcher was especially affected by the decision of the Geralt portrayer, Henry Cavill, to leave the project. The actor was a huge draw, as he was incredibly respectful of the source material, being a fan of Andrzej Sapkowski's books. All this makes the prospect of Liam Hemsworth successfully following in Cavill's footsteps very slim, and the announcement of a new animated movie makes the odds even slimmer. After all, this time Geralt will be voiced by a veteran of the video game series that started such a huge obsession with the setting.
What the New Witcher Movie Will Be About
As part of the Geeked Week 2023 online festival, Netflix delighted fans of The Witcher saga with the announcement of a new animated film, The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep.
As with Nightmare of the Wolf, South Korean Studio Mir is handling development. The director is Kang Hei Chul, animator of Nightmare of the Wolf and director of another popular Netflix series, Lookism.
The plot of the new movie will take place between the fifth and sixth episode of Season 1 and will be an adaptation of the story A Little Sacrifice, which is part of Sapkowski's original Sword of Destiny collection, where the saga essentially began. According to the story, Geralt and Dandelion, accompanied by their longtime friend Essi Daven, will attempt to resolve the conflict between humans and merpeople, which involves the love between Duke Agloval and the mermaid Sh'eenaz. The story is an interpretation of mermaid legends and, of course, Hans Christian Anderson's fairy tale.
Cavill and Hemsworth’s Main Competitor
Notably, the roles of Dandelion and Yennefer will be voiced by series actors Joey Batey and Anya Chalotra, respectively. The role of Geralt, however, will be voiced by Doug Cockle, who is new to Netflix but long familiar to fans of the franchise.
Cockle is not only a fan of Sapkowski's books like Henry Cavill, but a true veteran of the franchise, having worked on it since the mid-00s. He voiced the English version of Geralt in CD Project's acclaimed The Witcher video game trilogy, as well as its crossovers with other games such as Soulcalibur VI and Monster Hunter: World. It's a real treat for fans, as many consider Cockle to be one of the White Wolf's best performers, making him far more complex yet charismatic than Cavill's portrayal.
'I am super excited to announce my return to the world of The Witcher voicing Geralt of Rivia once again. I'm thrilled to be able to share this next chapter of the White Wolf's journey with fans of the Witcher universe. Mire taedh aen stráede!' Cockle shared his excitement, ending his words with a pathos-filled utterance on Elder Speech.
Well, under such challenging circumstances, we can only wish Liam Hemsworth luck in competing with Cavill, and even more so with Cockle, while fitting seamlessly into the same role.
The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep is scheduled for release in late 2024.
Source: Tudum.