In 1993 a Polish author by the name of Andrzej Sapkowski released to the world his first book in a series that would span many years to follow. The tale gave us a glimpse at a world plagued by creatures of myth and the men as well as the women who hunt them. He also gave us a glimpse into the life of a single Witcher by the name of Geralt of Rivia. A man who would wander the road alone as he came to hunt down the beasts that plague men, women, and children with their horrible afflictions.
Mr. Sapkowski would go on in 2012 to win a Gloria Artis Medal for Merit to culture in 2012. Before that his series was given a worthy nod by indie game developer CD Projekt Red who would later interpret his books into games. The series stood so beloved by Poland, that Polish Prime Minister gifted former President Barack Obama with a collector’s edition of The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings in order to commemorate the former presidents visitation.
Announced today, Netflix has chimed in on the creation of their newest show: The Witcher Saga. The show will follow suit just as any book to game, game to show, series would do. It’ll follow across the series of eight novels by Mr. Sapkowski and will find itself rather inspired by the game series by CD Projekt Red’s smash-hit RPG series.
For those wondering, Mr. Sapkowski will be serving as a creative consultant to the upcoming series. He even stated in the press release that “I’m trilled that Netflix will be doing an adaption of my stories,” and that they are “staying true to the source material and the themes that I have spent over thirty years writing.”
If anything proves true, Sapkowski already knows fans will be chiming in their feedback. Especially since the announcement that Tomas Baginski, the director behind the introduction videos and the Cyberpunk 2077 teaser trailer, will be serving as a director for a movie version of The Witcher, will be directing one episode per season. This does confirm the idea that Netflix plans on running multiple seasons of the show.
As of right now, it’s not clear if executive producers Sean Daniel and Josh Brown (known for The Expanse) will follow the games or the books just yet. They stated in the press release that “The Witcher stories follow an unconventional family that comes together to fight for truth in a dangerous world. The characters are original, funny and constantly surprising and we can’t wait to bring them to life at Netflix, the perfect home for innovative storytelling.”
This does give us an idea that they could adapt parts of the show from both the game and the books depending on their approach to the series. To assist in the shows development, Platige Image, a Polish Production and Visual Effects House will co-produce the series. In turn Baginski and Jarek Sawko have emphasized that the subtext from the book series will not be lost while adapting the show from the books. They stated that they understand the moral as well as intellectual depths the books has, which shoot far beyond anything in the fantasy genre.
Right now, Netflix has not announced a release date or any other information besides the fact the show is happening. So for now, the books and the games will have to keep us busy till we receive more information, which we are sure will come out around the time of San Diego Comic Con.
About the Writer:
Dustin is our native console gamer, PlayStation and Nintendo reviewer who has an appetite for anything that crosses the boarders from across the big pond. His interest in JRPG’s, Anime, Handheld Gaming, and Pizza is insatiable. His elitist attitude gives him direction, want, and a need for the hardest difficulties in games, which is fun to watch, and hilarity at its finest. You can find him over on Twitter, Google+, and or you can find him on PSN with RaivynLyken.