Newest Update from The Witcher Creator Proves Netflix Didn’t Learn Its Lesson With Adaptations
Andrzej Sapkowski revealed that he actually gave feedback to the show's creators, but it fell on deaf ears.
Summary:
- The Witcher TV series got off to a decent start, but quickly declined after its debut season
- The author of the original books, Andrzej Sapkowski, revealed that he tried to give advice to the show's creators, but was ignored
- The importance of respecting source material was recently demonstrated by another TV show, also created by Netflix
The Witcher Netflix TV series, based on the book series of the same name by Andrzej Sapkowski, has been through a lot of turmoil, with the situation getting worse with each season.
While the first season was moderately well-received by fans, the show quickly declined and even lost its main star, Henry Cavill, who portrayed the titular witcher Geralt of Rivia and served as the main attraction for the majority of viewers.
Season 2 was a major downgrade from the show's debut, and season 3, which was the last for Cavill, somehow turned out even worse, destroying any hope for improvement that fans had left.
Now that Cavill has been recast with Liam Hemsworth for future seasons, many fans have declared that they are done with the series, so it is unclear how long the project will survive.
Netflix Thought They Knew The Witcher Better Than The Original Creator
While there are many different reports and rumors as to why this disaster happened, the fact that the show's creators mishandled the source material, whether intentionally or accidentally, is undeniable.
Such neglect is further proven by the author of the source material, Andrzej Sapkowski himself, who revealed during his recent appearance at Vienna Comic-Con that his advice and suggestions were blatantly ignored by Netflix.
When asked if he had given any feedback to the show's creators, the writer laughed and said that everything he said had fallen on deaf ears, mockingly imitating studio executives: "Who is this? It's a writer, it's nobody."
Fans are pointing out how incredibly arrogant the showrunners were to think they knew better than the person who created the world of The Witcher in the first place.
Now the show's creators are facing the consequences of their own reckless actions, though fans are not so sure that this lesson will teach them any humility.
Another Netflix Series Recently Did Right What The Witcher Did Wrong
Collaborating with the author of the original, if possible, while creating an adaptation can be a great help and, frankly, is a pretty obvious step that the creators of The Witcher TV series ignored.
The importance of such an approach was recently demonstrated by the live-action TV series One Piece, which, in an ironic turn of events, was also created by Netflix.
The crew working on the series constantly consulted Eiichiro Oda, the creator of the original manga, which led to unexpectedly positive reviews from critics, viewers, and most importantly, fans of the original, in stark contrast to the situation surrounding The Witcher.
Considering that Henry Cavill is a fan of The Witcher books and video games, we could have had one of the most faithful adaptations in history if only the hubris of the show's creators hadn't gotten the best of them and they had listened to Sapkowski's ideas.
But now, as mentioned above, the show is in pretty bad shape, and despite being renewed for at least two more seasons, there's no guarantee it won't be canceled at some point in the future.
No release date for The Witcher season 4 has been announced yet, although it is expected sometime in 2025.