CLOSE TO THE Hungarian town of Baj, some 70km from Budapest, Henry Cavill is standing in a huge dome-like cavern. Usually it’s a wine cellar; today it’s been remodelled for one of the many sets for The Witcher, the new fantasy show from Netflix based on the hugely popular book series by Andrzej Sapkowski. Cavill, famed for playing Superman in the recent DC Comics movies, takes the lead, as Geralt of Rivia.
Currently, the team is working on episode seven – there are eight in total – amid what’s been an arduous seven-month shoot. In the middle of the room stands a giant well, with a beam of light shooting out from underneath. A cameraman follows Cavill, dressed in black leathers, with a sword on his back and long silver hair, as he prowls around the well. “That’s lovely, Henry,” says a voice from the gloom, as “cut” is called, and Cavill takes five.
Away from the set, showrunner Lauren Hissrich pitches up. A former writer on The West Wing, more recently she has worked on Marvel shows like Daredevil and The Defenders. “The world of The Witcher is really unique in that it takes this world of fantasy, adventure, fights, monsters, romance and witches... and yet Sapkowski thought it was really important to ground it in what was happening in the real world,” she says.
For the uninitiated, a Witcher is a beast-hunter – trained in deadly fighting skills and exposed to mutagens that grant them enhanced abilities, including the use of magic. This rarefied breed patrol The Continent, the unnamed setting for Sapkowski’s universe where elves, dwarves, humans and other creatures co-exist. “It’s really the European Lord Of The Rings, in a sense,” says Julian Parry, the show’s visual effects supervisor. Sapkowski, unsurprisingly, has been dubbed “the Polish Tolkien”.
Denne historien er fra December 2019-utgaven av SFX.
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Denne historien er fra December 2019-utgaven av SFX.
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ANCER MAHAGEMENT
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WHO YA CONNA CALL?
BEHIND THE SCENES AT HALLOWEEN HORROR NIGHTS FOR GHOSTBUSTERS: FROZEN EMPIRE
SPEAK OF THE DEVIL
THE DEVIL'S HOUR STRIKES TWICE AS THE GENREDEFYING DRAMA RETURNS
SCARRY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK
FROM THE RETURN OF EC COMICS TO SCREAM!, THIS YEAR'S HALLOWEEN OFFERS UP HORROR COMICS FOR ALL THE AGES
UNDEADS REFLECTIONS
NEIL JORDAN ON BRINGING ANNE RICE'S MODERN VAMPIRE CLASSIC TO SCREEN, 30 YEARS ON
MUNSTER MASH!
PRODUCTION HELL, SHOCK RECASTING AND HOTLY CONTESTED AUTHORSHIP. AS THE MUNSTERS CELEBRATE THEIR 60TH ANNIVERSARY, WE UNCOVER HOW THE SPOOKY SITCOM WAS ALMOST DEAD ON ARRIVAL
COMING TO AMERICA
THE MOGWAI LIVE THE AMERICAN DREAM IN THEIR SECOND CHAPTER, GREMLINS: THE WILD BATCH
BEING HUMAN EVOLUTION
IT MAY HAVE BEEN AN INSTANT HIT, BUT BBC THREE'S DARKLY COMIC DRAMA ABOUT A HOUSE-SHARING VAMPIRE/WEREWOLF/GHOST TRIO HAD A STRANGE JOURNEY TO THE SCREEN, SERIES CREATOR TOBY WHITHOUSE TELLS SFX
THE MAINE EVENT
THE DARK IS RISING IN SALEM'S LOT AS STEPHEN KING'S DEATHLESS TALE RETURNS TO THE SCREEN
WHY DON'T YOU STAY FOR A BITE?
THE VAMPIRE COMES HOME AS DIRECTOR EUROS LYN WELCOMES SFX TO HIS NEW DARK COMEDY THE RADLEYS
