The Witcher Audition Tapes Tease TV Show's Geralt & Yennefer

[Nergal]

 

Audition tapes from Netflix's upcoming Witcher TV series tease the roles of Geralt and Yennefer. From Henry Cavill to Richard Armitage, there has been much speculation as to who will (and should) play the White Wolf in Lauren S. Hissrich's TV adaptation of the popular novel series by Andrzej Sapkowski. And considering the scope of the books, fans are unsure of what to expect from the live-action TV show.

At the moment, all that fans know is that the series' first season will be eight episodes long and that the pilot script is finished. All that's left is for the Butcher of Blaviken to be cast. Recently, the casting scripts - or, sides - for the series leaked online, kickstarting a debate about how accurate the show will be to the source material. But Hissrich previously stated the sides, which she expected to leak online, were created specifically for the casting process; they do not reflect the plot in any way whatsoever. And the same can be said for audition tapes, but at least those give an idea of the interaction fans can anticipate for the show.

Audition tapes by Micheal McIntyre and Sarah Wylie reading for the parts of Geralt and Yennefer, respectively, recently surfaced online (via GWW). While many productions go after specific actors, the casting is open for The Witcher, so plenty of audition tapes could release in the future. However, these ones alone give a strong indication as to what Hissrich is looking for in her leading stars.
 

What's interesting about the audition tapes is that both McIntyre and Wylie maintain their American accents, which could mean Hissrich and the rest of the creative team aren't looking for people who can master Polish accents. But it's worth noting that McIntyre does try to provide an intonation that fans can recognize from Geralt. It has also been announced that the show's depiction of Geralt will be based on the video game version, as opposed to the way he appears in the books. The audition tapes definitely testify to this, as McIntyre's reading looks like it could have been taken word-for-word from an in-game cut-scene.

Netflix's series will be welcomed by fans of The Witcher all over the world, as Polish developers CD Projekt Red have hinted at a new Witcher game - but without Geralt. Geralt's voice actor actually said that the new game, if it is developed, should feature Ciri as the main character. Fans would surely welcome this, as Ciri very quickly became a fan-favorite after the success of The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt. But until a new game goes into production, fans can look forward to Netflix's The Witcher series, which will reportedly begin filming this November, but it may not release until 2020 at the earliest.