Netflix’s “The Witcher”: Henry Cavill Cast as Geralt, Minority Sought for Ciri

Krenum said:
LOL, really? Didn't we just have a minority as President of the United States of America? Of course the Democrats will keep beating that old horse to get the sympathy vote till the cows come home.

On topic,

Its not about being "insecure about being white" as a poster above stated, its about proper representation of the source material & how the industry constantly messes around with it to pander to an audience.

Lets, release a new version of the Bible, this time lets make Jesus an Asian because, it'll sell better in Asia.
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Pander, please....the only reason your all triggered is cause they aren't pandering to your audience, and your all jealous and insecure about how "whites" are getting tossed around. As silly as those SJWs screeching about online abuse.

Krenum said:
Sure is, just ask the EU.:rolleyes:
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Insecure. ^
 
I dont get why they cant come up with new material to fit the cultural diversity they want*. they scream and yell about cultural appropriation yet do it whenever/where ever they want.
*oh wait they did try that with comics and they are all failing...
 
Krenum said:
LOL, really? Didn't we just have a minority as President of the United States of America? Of course the Democrats will keep beating that old horse to get the sympathy vote till the cows come home.

On topic,

Its not about being "insecure about being white" as a poster above stated, its about proper representation of the source material & how the industry constantly messes around with it to pander to an audience.

Lets, release a new version of the Bible, this time lets make Jesus an Asian because, it'll sell better in Asia.
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That poster said its a fantasy. Are you saying bible is a fantasy?

He does have a point. Witcher is a game, its not like its based on a true story that has happened and you have to represent the character as it was in reality. Now that would be a serious mis representation. Clearly one should be pissed. But to get pissed off about a character in a game is just being too dramatic. Why not wait until you see how that person plays that character?

You are comparing reality vs fiction. I mean are you seriously comparing Bible to witcher? Its like apples vs oranges.

I do think he made a good point. Fiction is fiction, and reality is reality. I realize its based off a game and they don't have to stick to color or original character. If Witcher was a real proven story then yea they should stick to it.

Yea it would be nice to satisfy people that love the game, but they are turning it in to a series so now you have diverse group.

I guess what i am saying is I don't give a fuck either way lol!
 
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I think its an odd choice, I like Cavill as teh lead though, think its cool that hes really into the books and games as well. This isnt gonna make me not watch it.
 
NKD said:
That poster said its a fantasy. Are you saying bible is a fantasy?
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An all knowing all seeing man in the sky seems a bit fantastical to me. But I think its a damn good story, one that can be looked upon for strength in times of need.
 
SighTurtle said:
Ill give you the same response I gave to SJWs bitching about cultural appropriation...
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But is this cultural mixing, or just replacing? And for what reason?

People flogged the Witcher over and over for not representing American minorities when the games came out, completely disregarding the fact that it's not an American game or American setting.

It was manufactured outrage, and it seems like they're trying to dodge that here. It's...it's icky. That's the word that comes to my mind, icky.

And a bit weak-willed? It doesn't seem like it's for any artistic purpose. I can't see anything here that's not doing the same kind of shit that happened with LotR.

I mean, I understand why, I think, why they're doing this. That doesn't mean I have to think it's a good reason.
 
You're worried that using a minority actor to portray Ciri will ruin the movie? Hell, I have much bigger worries than that, I'm talking about the true essence of Witcher. I'm sure the producers can find plenty of great breasts, great asses, and lots of bathtubs to roll them around in, but it's hard for a movie to properly unfold the splendor of looking for moleyarrow for 20 minutes, 'cause it just won't do for Geralt to have the right herb in his backpack when he needs it.

I can see the movie theater in my mind, on the screen Geralt is carefully pawing his hands through some weeds and loose soil as he kneels by his horse, He says,

"Harpys. These are the tracks of a great pack of harpys. I'm not sure why harpys would leave tracks, but it looks like they are only a few moments ahead of us."
"Can we fight these beasts, Geralt?"
"Yes. It just so happens I have Pigskin Puffballs in my pack."

And then all the nerds in the audience would groan, because there is NO FUCKING WAY that Geralt ever has the right herb when he needs it, that's half of the plot, finding the right herb. I also don't know how the movie is going to portray Geralt getting his ass murdered the first time he fights a new monster, Hollywood has never been very good at that.

You're worried about Ciri being a minority? I'm way more worried about how the animal rights people are going to complain when Geralt starts chopping up the horses that get in his way when he's trying to fight a monster. You'd think that the Witchers would have a special spell for murdering all horses, as often as they get between you and the monster you need to kill.
 
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Simmonz said:
I hope those same people would be ok if we did a Malcom X movie with Malcom X being played by Billy Bob Thornton.
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I'm picturing Dave Chappelle as a white supremacist, but in reverse. Low-melanin white folks, enjoying all the black man's sun rays!
 
Krenum said:
LOL, really? Didn't we just have a minority as President of the United States of America?
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And that has what to do, exactly, with the fact that minorities are underrepresented in pop culture? Oh right: Nothing.

The numbers don't lie. I'm sorry (not sorry) that you apparently don't like what they say.
 
Yep. After YEARS of reading the books and playing the games, I'm pretty much casting this into the ignore pile.

I don't want to suspend my disbelief. It's like casting an old black man to play Harry Potter in a new reboot.

Just stick to the source material for things that already have huge fanbases.
 
bugleyman said:
Last time I checked, the EU was demolishing the U.S. on every quality of life measurement. Longer life spans, better healthcare outcomes, lower crime, etc., etc. etc.
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Oh is that the reason why they're now taking measurements to reduce immigration? I couldn't have sworn it was because of the bombings / car and knife attacks.
 
Krenum said:
Exactly, it has to do with nothing. minorities aren't underrepresented at all.
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Uhm...the numbers beg to differ.

10% of the population is homosexual. If 10% of game characters were homosexual, people's head would explode.
 
bugleyman said:
Uhm...the numbers beg to differ.

10% of the population is homosexual. If 10% of game characters were homosexual, people's head would explode.
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Actually in the Witcher universe I believe 10% or more of the population was homosexual. Have you not played the games?
 
Krenum said:
Oh is that the reason why they're now taking measurements to reduce immigration? I couldn't have sworn it was because of the bombings / car and knife attacks.
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Again, the numbers don't lie. They have fewer murders than we do.

Is that the excuse being used to push an anti-immigration stance? Yup. But the data simply doesn't support the assertion...which is probably why you are so desperately avoiding it.
 
bugleyman said:
Again, the numbers don't lie. They have fewer murders than we do.

Is that the excuse being used to push an anti-immigration stance? Yup. But the data simply doesn't support the assertion...which is probably why you are so desperately avoiding it.
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Well, you paint a pretty picture. I guess we should all pack up our things and move out of this mean old United States and head to the EU, seems like a nice place to live.
 
Krenum said:
Well, you paint a pretty picture. I guess we should all pack up our things and move out of this mean old United States and head to the EU, seems like a nice place to live.
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Which has what to do with the net effect of immigration, exactly?

Just be a big boy and admit your argument sucks already.
 
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Axman said:
But is this cultural mixing, or just replacing? And for what reason?

People flogged the Witcher over and over for not representing American minorities when the games came out, completely disregarding the fact that it's not an American game or American setting.

It was manufactured outrage, and it seems like they're trying to dodge that here. It's...it's icky. That's the word that comes to my mind, icky.

And a bit weak-willed? It doesn't seem like it's for any artistic purpose. I can't see anything here that's not doing the same kind of shit that happened with LotR.

I mean, I understand why, I think, why they're doing this. That doesn't mean I have to think it's a good reason.
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Those people flogging the Witcher for that reason, were dumb too. They also wanted pandering. End of the day, pandering is literally another word for "appeal" and no one should ever attach pandering to negativity. Pandering is just selling products to people. So ya, they are pandering to those audiences. Its their right. If you don't like it, don't buy it. While I don't exactly enjoy the idea of losing identity for mass appeal, I also can't particularly oppose a different skin color cause it doesn't manner (to me that Ciri is black). Look, if your worried about the series losing the witcher feel, this ain't the hill to die on.

Also....artistic purpose? Money. Its money.

Honestly, why is race a big deal? Its a fantasy series, a Polish fantasy series, but its fantasy. Like, why does her skin color matter? Is her being white so central to her character that it changing doesn't make it Ciri? Like, if you changed all the main characters to be black, why should that change the story?
 
SighTurtle said:
Honestly, why is race a big deal? Its a fantasy series, a Polish fantasy series, but its fantasy. Like, why does her skin color matter? Is her being white so central to her character that it changing doesn't make it Ciri? Like, if you changed all the main characters to be black, why should that change the story?
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Race is a HUGE deal in the Witcher series, non-humans specifically, which was used as an undertone for Polish life. Do you even Witcher bro?

Furthermore, if they changed Santa Clause to a minority, you would be upset. Not because he can't be but because he, in your mind has always been lighter skinned. (St. Nicholas was actually a real person and Danish.)

So by doing that, they have altered the source material. So at this point, why does Geralt have to be male?
 
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Arcygenical said:
Yep. After YEARS of reading the books and playing the games, I'm pretty much casting this into the ignore pile.

I don't want to suspend my disbelief. It's like casting an old black man to play Harry Potter in a new reboot.

Just stick to the source material for things that already have huge fanbases.
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So....for you, casting Ciri as a black girl is as bad as casting a old black man to play Harry Potter, a 14 yr old boy....

So I bet the differences between the books and the games drive you insane.....
 
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Cavill as Geralt fan photoshop doesn't look that bad.

Ciri thing is just as expected in as cinema needs to appeal to a worldwide audience now. My guess is the A in bAme , for the huge Asian fanbase. Also probably a less expensive actress(sadly) Money money money
 
SighTurtle said:
So....for you, casting Ciri as a black girl is as bad as casting a old black man to play Harry Potter, a 14 yr old boy....

So I bet the differences between the books and the games drive you insane.....
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The differences REALLY did. Luckily I was able to experience the two works around 6 years apart, so the incongruities were easier to swallow.

And Ciri as a black woman... Which side of her genetics were black? Was Lara Dorren's lineage?Is Emhyr black in this series?

Race is a HUGE issue in TW. It's the basis of almost all conflict on the continent. She's too central to the series to change her race without changing other large portions of the story or lore...
 
I recently had a funny conversation on a Chinese forum about movies including Asian actors to appeal to the Chinese market and investors. The thread devolved into some of the most racist pro-Han shit you will ever read. For those not aware, China has some 50+ ethnic groups in China and for a certain percentage of Chinese if your not Han, you're trash. Some of this goes back to Mao and the attempt to create the "one Han" movement, whereby everyone gave up their cultural identity to make Communism great again. It ended about like how you would expect. But it resulted in a lot of people calling themselves Han in order to move up or maintain their place in society. Anyway, this all goes back to that for a fair number of Chinese these non-Chinese actors pretending to be Chinese is seen as worse than if a European sat in the role.

If you're trying to fill a role for historical accuracy, I think you should fill the role to look correct. That may mean someone not ethnically correct get's it, so long as they look correct. For fictional roles, who cares? Kids love to see someone that looks like them in movies and shows. Giving a kid the ability to see someone like them in a fictional narration is far more important that a few butt hurt people who want an authentic looking character. I mean ffs Daenerys filled by a brunette looks ridiculous with that dye job, but how many people are complaining that Emilia Clarke should be replaced with someone with the proper complexion? Poland has made their Witcher movies, so Netflix is making this for a worldwide audience.
 
Krenum said:
Race is a HUGE deal in the Witcher series, non-humans specifically, which was used as an undertone for Polish life. Do you even Witcher bro?

Furthermore, if they changed Santa Clause to a minority, you would be upset. Not because he can't be but because he, in your mind has always been lighter skinned. (St. Nicholas was actually a real person and Danish.)

So by doing that, they have altered the source material. So at this point, why does Geralt have to be male?
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I don't witcher. At all. Why does Geralt have to be male? Sure, change him to be female. As far as I'm concerned, when the creator of the witcher series sold the film rights, the terms of the agreement are the only things that matter. Otherwise, source material being altered, go ahead (happens all the fucking time). I don't give a shit. Why does Santa have to be white? Does him not being white change my image of him to be any different? Is he not a jolly, present-giving fat man if hes black? Is it really so strange to imagine Saint Nick as black? Why does Ciri have to be white, except for the fact that without that particular factoid, your mental images are shattered?
 
I can imagine Ciri as a young Asian girl with short white hair.
But Yennifer? And a 15-16 year-old on top of that?
 
Arcygenical said:
The differences REALLY did. Luckily I was able to experience the two works around 6 years apart, so the incongruities were easier to swallow.

And Ciri as a black woman... Which side of her genetics were black? Was Lara Dorren's lineage?Is Emhyr black in this series?

Race is a HUGE issue in TW. It's the basis of almost all conflict on the continent. She's too central to the series to change her race without changing other large portions of the story or lore...
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Well thats different. I'm afraid my ignorance of Witcher's lore influenced my replies in the thread. Obviously, to a fan, a faithful reproduction of lore and story is a important facet to you. My bad, I thought you all were racist.
 
I am sick of this.

Ciri does NOT need to be typecast like by the books.

If the directors were really courageous, they’d cast a 50-something year old, bald, fat, scruffy man to play this role. Preferably one who doesn’t speak the same language as Geralt so they can only communicate by reading each other’s sub captions.
 
If they kept the casting to match what was shown in the games, introduced a new character that was <insert minority you want to try and appeal to here>, and given them the backstory and rich history of all the other characters along with the ability to stand on their own, it may have been a better solution in general.

But what to do I know about mass media and TV series? Nothing!! :p
 
SighTurtle said:
I don't witcher. At all. Why does Geralt have to be male? Sure, change him to be female. As far as I'm concerned, when the creator of the witcher series sold the film rights, the terms of the agreement are the only things that matter. Otherwise, source material being altered, go ahead (happens all the fucking time). I don't give a shit. Why does Santa have to be white? Does him not being white change my image of him to be any different? Is he not a jolly, present-giving fat man if hes black? Is it really so strange to imagine Saint Nick as black? Why does Ciri have to be white, except for the fact that without that particular factoid, your mental images are shattered?
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Ciri was the first woman to become a Witcher and it’s was a huge deal. You take that huge achievement from Ciri if you go fucking around with everything.
 
Man I wish they would have cast Geralt as Isaiah Mustafa. I mean Cavill doesn't even have white hair or scars, so we really should have found someone that at least added something to the role.
 
Krenum said:
Lets, release a new version of the Bible, this time lets make Jesus an Asian because, it'll sell better in Asia.
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Well, we kind of already did that. According to Jewish DNA sampled from the Ancient Roman period, Jesus would have been Western Asian / North African and would have had dark curly hair and a 'dark intermediate' skin tone using Von Luschan's chromatic scale.
 
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