Watch Henry Cavill come face to face with monsters in the first trailer for The Witcher

• When is The Witcher released on Netflix? Who is in the cast?
• The best TV shows airing in 2019
• Netflix release dates 2019

The clip confirms what we had all expected: that this series intends to fill the gaping hole left by Game of Thrones, which bowed out with its eighth and final season earlier this year. Show-runner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich said during the panel that it is a "very adult show", and from the glimpses of sex and violence in the trailer, its clear she isn't playing around.

It introduces us to Cavill's Geralt, the long-haired protagonist who is preparing for a battle with a series of dark forces. Check it out below.

https://youtu.be/cSqi-8kAMmM

During the panel, Cavill said he took the role because he was intrigued by Geralt, who he describes as "not your average hero."

“I’m a big gamer, I played the games a lot, many many hours put into those,” he said. “There was something about Geralt which really struck a chord with me, he’s not your average hero….he won’t treat everyone perfectly and at the same time down he’s a real hero, but he keeps that very secret and very private.”

He also delivered a handy explanation for those of us who are still a little bit confused as to what a "Witcher" actually is...

“A Witcher is a young boy who has been left to fend for themselves and taken in by the group called Witchers and they are trained to levels of almost inhuman agility and endurance," he said. "And from there they become mutants, most of these children do not survive….after that they are trained in the art of monster hunting and travel the world hunting monster for coin, that is their one and sole purpose in the world."

The Witcher will be released on Netflix in late 2019