A Rumored Casting Call Has Some Members of theWitcherFandom Freaking Out

A casting call has popped up in the United Kingdom for Ciri , the unseasoned ward of Geralt of Rivia , played by Henry Cavill , and the point of the call have pull together a vast argument in the fandom .

Posted on the website for the National Youth Theatre in the United Kingdom , the regurgitate call , for the upcoming Netflix Witcher idiot box serial publication based on thebooks by Andrzej Sapkowski , is reportedly seek a teenager to spiel Cirilla , a young orphan whose actually fate involves royal house and virile magic . Ciri ’s story here seems vastly similar to other versions of the character , with one difference . According to the casting call , which may or may not be legitimate , Netflix is looking for a “ BAME ” actress , which stands for “ dim , Asiatic , and other non - white minority ethnic ” actress . If this is accurate , Netflix is face to cast Ciri as a youthful soul of color . io9 has make out to the purported casting theatre director and will update if we hear back .

news show of this come to the fandom yesterday , and it has become a bit of a mess . The Witcher subreddit has been buzzing with posts about the call , with outstanding posts calling the decision to cast Ciri as non - blank “ racialist ” and overly political , andsuggestingthat it contradicts earlier argument from the showrunner , Lauren S. Hissrich , who once sound out that she would n’t change reference ’s background knowledge or sexuality because she was , quote , “ feel ‘ big ’ that twenty-four hour period . ” The backlash amongst the community has been so bad that today moderators consolidated it into a exclusive , contentious mega - screw thread .

Argentina’s President Javier Milei (left) and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., holding a chainsaw in a photo posted to Kennedy’s X account on May 27. 2025.

This is n’t the first time The Witcher has encountered contestation due to issues colligate to race . After the release of The Witcher 3 video game , many interview members noticed that there were very few , if any , people of color among the cast and the various earth non - player case . It became a notable concern regarding the game , with many criticscalling the decision whitewashing , citing broad representation business organisation as well the mien of mass of color in the historic Middle Ages the serial publication ’ fantasy world is based on and the creation ofMiddle - easterly - parallel nationsin the Continent of the plot ’s fiction .

Questions of representation in The Witcher are somewhat more gnarled than in strictly American - made medium . disparager of including people of colour in the universe , particularly if it need changing the ethnicity of main characters , cite the stock of the book as Polish ethnic turnout , with clearly Polish features , and as such should reflect the largely ( though not solely ) ethnically homogenous demographics of Poland itself .

Those in favour of being more inclusive of people of vividness point out that The Witcher ’s Continent , while based on Northern Europe in the Middle Ages , is a fantasy land , and breaks from reality are thus acceptable , peculiarly if they make the work more accessible to a broader ambit of viewers who are n’t used to go through themselves represented in fantasy media . Besides , as has beenwell document , people of colour did exist in Europe during the Middle Ages , even if their presence has been historically minimise . And it ’s deserving noting that Hissrich herselfhas discussedand recognise this as an of import context for the show ’s existence .

William Duplessie

The conclusion to multifariously cast musical genre television set is increasingly pop , and progressively demanded by audiences , though that has n’t made it easy . chemical element of fandom hostile to variety often respond with vitriol to minorities in their favorite thing , driving them off social mediaand generallysaying horrible thingsabout them .

multifariousness is generally a win . It allow people to see themselves in the media they like , and that has incontrovertible positive effects on people ’s lifetime . But casting variously still comes with a toll , and will , as this and every other example shows , be a challenge for the creators and cast who have to deal with raging fans over it .

in person , I reckon casting Ciri as a new adult female of color is exciting , and does n’t change anything about the substance of the character . I also hope that Netflix and the show ’s Godhead are inclined to support whoever they cast in that role , because they ’re going to have a very approximate time .

Starship Test 9