Henry Cavill has been cast to star in Netflix's adaptation of The Witcher as lead character Geralt of Rivia, the streaming giant has announced.

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Netflix Spotlight: September 2018 14 IMAGES

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The series is based on the bestselling fantasy novels by Andrzej Sapkowski. According to Netflix, The Witcher is described as "an epic tale of fate and family. Geralt of Rivia, 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." Cavill first publicly expressed his interest in the role of Geralt in Netflix's Witcher adaptation in an interview with IGN - watch below:Cavill has also proven himself to be a big fan of both the games and Sapkowski's novels, telling IGN: "The books are amazing... I started reading, and they are well worth a read."Lauren Schmidt Hissrich will serve as showrunner on the eight-episode first season - she previously worked on Marvel's Daredevil and The Defenders, as well as Netflix's upcoming adaptation of Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá's Umbrella Academy. Game of Thrones director and cinematographer Alik Sakharov will direct four episodes, including the pilot. Luke Cage helmer Alex Garcia Lopez and Outlander director Charlotte Brändström will also direct two episodes each. This will be Cavill's first series regular TV role since his time on The Tudors from 2007-2010.Read what Hissrich and Cavill had to say about Cavill's casting here No premiere date for The Witcher series has been announced, but it's expected to debut on Netflix sometime in 2020 For more on The Witcher, read why we gave the Witcher 3 game a 9.3 . Plus, did you know there was already a Witcher TV series and movie adaptation almost a decade ago?