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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Entertainment
Katie Rosseinsky

The Witcher premiere: Henry Cavill leads stars of Netflix's fantasy series on the red carpet

Henry Cavill celebrated the launch of new Netflix series The Witcher at the show's world premiere in London in Monday night.

The actor, 36, looked dapper on the red carpet in a navy blue suit, with a shirt and tie in complementary hues.

He was joined by rising star Freya Allan, who plays Princess Ciri in the upcoming fantasy series. The 18-year-old newcomer kept things simple in a halterneck white gown with silver embellishments for her red carpet debut.

Her cast mates Anya Chalotra and Therica Wilson-Read also opted for shimmering white dresses for the occasion.

Rising star: The Witcher is Allan's breakout role (PA)

Anna Shaffer chose an asymmetric black velvet design, while former Downton Abbey star MyAnna Buring wore a bold green and blue checked strapless dress.

New role: Audiences may recognise Buring from her stint on Downton Abbey (PA)

The eight-part drama is based on a book series by Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski and follows Geralt of Rivia (Cavill), a monster hunter who defends a fantasy world known as the Continent from evil creatures.

When he encounters a powerful sorceress and a princess harbouring a dangerous secret, his destiny is changed forever.

(Katalin Vermes / Netflix)

Cavill wears a long silver-blonde wig to embody the role of Geralt, and executive producer Tomasz Baginski has also revealed that the star fully immersed himself into the show’s fantasy world by “sleeping in a trailer right by the set” in Hungary.

“He didn’t go back to the hotel in Budapest which saved him an hour every day, but mostly it meant that during the whole time he was in the Witcher world,” Baginksi told ComicBook.com

“That doesn’t happen very often. Henry is a working actor, he knows what to do and he delivers fantastic scenes.”

The programme has already been renewed for a second series by Netflix in a vote of confidence from the streaming service, and early critical reactions have suggested that The Witcher’s battle scenes could rival those in HBO’s Game of Thrones.

The series was filmed in Hungary, Poland and the Canary Islands.

The Witcher arrives on Netflix on December 20.

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