Netflix’s Upcoming ‘The Witcher’ Has Cast Two Very Important Female Leads

Just over a month after Henry Cavill was announced as the lead in Netflix’s upcoming adaptation of the popular book and video game series, The Witcher, two more important roles have been filled. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Freya Allan and Anya Chalotra will play the characters Ciri and Yennefer, who figure prominently in the main storyline. The latter is the main love interest for Cavill’s character, Geralt of Rivia, while the former is a princess in the important kingdom of Cintra.

The casting news comes after showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich, who previously produced Daredevil and The Defenders for Netflix’s partnership with Marvel, took a brief hiatus from social media following some online backlash. Both the game and its source material, the novels of Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski, are specific to a particular region of Europe. So when Hissrich initially announced the diversity of The Witcher‘s writer’s room on Twitter, a vocal minority lashed out with some especially racist commentary.

“It’s time for a Twitter hiatus,” she wrote back in September. “The love here is amazing, and the hate is enlightening, like a real-life Trial of the Grasses, except I have to read less and write more — or we won’t have a damn finale. Be back soon with more insight and more Roach. Be nice to each other, okay”

Along with Allan and Chalotra’s casting, Netflix also announced that Jodhi May, Bjorn Hlynur Haraldsson, Adam Levy, MyAnna Buring, Mimi Ndiweni, Therica Wilson-Read, and Millie Brady would be joining the series.