The Witcher: Why Netflix's Show Changed Ciri's Age - Screen Rant

Here's why The Witcher decided to age-up Ciri for the Netflix adaptation. Prior to December 2019, The Witcher was primarily known as a fantasy video game series, but Geralt of Rivia's story actually began in written form with the series of novels by Andrzej Sapkowski. The main saga comprises of five volumes and chronicles Geralt's efforts to protect young princess Ciri from the various parties who would wish to separate her head from her body. Ciri makes her video game appearance in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, but the Netflix series takes its cues more from Sapkowski's books.

Diving deep into Geralt's backstory, the Netflix adaptation stars Henry Cavill as the titular Witcher and Freya Allan as Ciri. Making use of multiple, interweaving timelines, the audience see the Geralt of the past involve himself in the business of Cintra, fighting for Princess Pavetta's cursed lover, who subsequently wishes to thank the brooding stranger for his aid. Geralt dismissively asks for the Law of Surprise, not expecting anything to come of it, but learns that Pavetta is pregnant. As per the laws of the land, the fates of this unborn child, the future Ciri, and Geralt are now inextricably linked. In the future timeline of The Witcher season 1, Ciri is now a royal refugee after Cintra was invaded by Nilfgaard, and the youngster is told to find Geralt of Rivia who will surely protect her. Season 1 ends with the destined pair finally meeting, bringing the Netflix series up to speed with the books.

Related: The Witcher Prequel: Biggest Mysteries The Netflix Spin-off Can Answer

One thing fans of The Witcher surely noticed about Netflix's Ciri was the character's age compared to the source material. When Cintra falls in the novels, Ciri is around 11 years old, and after some time wandering alone, she finally meets up with Geralt at roughly the age of 12. While these same events transpire in the live-action Netflix series, it's clear that Ciri is much older than she should be. Born in 2001, Freya Allan was already in her late teens when cast as Ciri, and while the character is presented slightly younger (going out to play with friends, being treated like a child, etc.) she's certainly older than the pre-teen Geralt protects in the books.

While many viewers might assume an older Ciri was a creative decision designed to give the character more versatility in live-action, the choice was a purely practical one. Showrunner, Lauren S. Hissrich, explained in a Reddit post that the initial plan was to go authentic and cast a 12-year-old actress as Ciri. The process hit a snag when the production team realized most of Ciri's scenes would come at night, and child labor laws would greatly limit filming during the small hours, necessitating an older actress for the role.

The reasoning behind casting an older Ciri is not only understandable, but also ensures The Witcher will avoid another key pitfall of filming with youngsters. As seen in Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead, the relentless charge of puberty doesn't stop between seasons, meaning actors that were children in season 1 can soon look far older than they're meant to if the show continues for a number of years. If a 12-year-old Ciri had appeared in The Witcher's first season, the actress' real life aging might've caused problems further down the line. Since Freya Allan is already 18, however, her appearance isn't going to change dramatically between seasons, so while Netflix's Ciri might be somewhat of a deviation from the source material, it's one that entirely makes sense for the live-action medium.

Ciri's age isn't something that should impact The Witcher negatively going forward. As previously mentioned, the Netflix series has been sure to frame Ciri in a child-like way, meaning the audience still view her as an innocent and defenseless youngster in need of protection. Furthermore, the significant gap between Ciri and Geralt's ages remains even if the former is a teenager, meaning their relationship and dynamic doesn't need to be altered. Geralt can still comfort Ciri after her nightmares and act as her adopted parent despite the age change. An older Ciri might naturally be more headstrong and forthright, but these qualities have always been present in the character at any age, so personality isn't a problem either. It's also worth noting that even in the books, Sapkowski is inconsistent with regards to Ciri's true age, emphasizing how unimportant the specific number is to her character.

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More: The Witcher: How Old Geralt Is At The End of Season 1

The Witcher season 2 is currently without a release date.