Netflix’s The Witcher Has Just Found Its Ciri And Yennefer

It looks like Netflix has finally found its Ciri and Yennefer for its upcoming live-action adaptation of The Witcher.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Freya Allen has just been cast as Ciri, the young princess of Cintra, while Anya Chalotra has just been cast as the gorgeous sorceress Yennefer, the main love interest in the franchise. The two will be starring opposite Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice star Henry Cavill, Netflix's new Geralt of Rivia.

This new casting announcement will definitely come as a relief to Witcher fans. There was a whole lot of controversy surrounding the project last month when a leaked casting notice searching for black, asian and other ethnic actresses to play the role of Ciri came out online.

Speaking with THR about the casting decision and the initial controversy surrounding the series, Witcher showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich says she had no intention of removing the show from its Slavic roots, saying that she's always wanted to take the Slavic stories to a global platform.

"One of the things I feel most strongly about is people being afraid that we're going to strip out the cultural context of The Witcher, to remove its Slavic roots, the very thing people in Poland are proud of. That couldn't be further from the truth. What I've always wanted to do is take these Slavic stories and give them a global audience."

After hearing the leaks regarding the "BAME" casting, outrage poured on the internet with Witcher fans calling out the production for wanting to change the race of Ciri, Geralt of Rivia's ward.

While audiences have loved the steps Hollywood has taken to have more diversity and representation in its films, fans felt like the Witcher adaptation was going a bit too far, straying away from its source material.

Luckily, it seems like the production has changed its mind regarding its casting decisions, going with Allen for the role.

The Witcher series has yet to receive a release date, but the show is expected to drop sometime next year.

Read: Netflix's The Dragon Prince Renewed for Season 2