The Witcher is a popular pop culture video game series based on books by Andrzej Sapkowski. However, the Netflix show has received mixed feedback from fans, and now the author may have given a clue as to why the show is not as good as his novel.
Every true gamer should (at least) have played The Witcher 3 and experienced the extraordinary fantasy world created by Andrzej Sapkowski.
The excitement among fans was palpable when Netflix announced a multi-season series about Geralt of Rivia and his adventures. Despite a strong debut in Season 1, the show's quality and plot intrigue have declined in subsequent seasons. Concerns are growing for Season 4, especially after the departure of Henry Cavill.
At Vienna Comic Con, the author of the novels shared his thoughts on the Netflix adaptation and the show's direction.
Witcher Author Talks About Netflix Show At Vienna Comic Con
The experience of seeing his book characters come to life on screen was described as “strange” by Andrzej Sapkowski. He emphasized his focus on words over visuals: “I do not describe pictures. I don't see any pictures. I use the letters only because I know that my reader will see in the book the letters only, not the pictures.”
He also praised the immense effort that went into the production when he visited the studios, describing the set as "tremendous – treemeeendous." However, regarding his input on Netflix's adaptation, he revealed:“I gave them some ideas, but they never listened to me,” followed by a laugh, and added: “It's normal. Who is this? It's a writer – he is nobody.”
His humorous answers still give a little insight into a possible reason why the show might struggle to match the depth of the books. The Netflix showrunners have decided that the original author of the story is not that important and does not need to have a say in the outcome of the show.
They have not seen how Game of Thrones ended after the producers could not wait for George R.R. Martin and rushed into their own "great" ideas, we guess...
You can find the complete interview with Cerealkillerz on YouTube. It's just over 13 minutes long, and the feedback part can be found at minute 11:09.