The Witcher Failed to Learn the Lesson The Last of Us Got an 'A' For
It seems that the creators themselves are confused whether it will be closer to the original or not.
The marketing campaign for The Witcher season 3 is in full swing, with just over a month to go until the release of the first part. So naturally, a lot of promotion is being done for the season, including interviews with the cast and creators.
In one of the most recent ones, Lauren Hissrich, the show's executive producer, said that she and other creators believe that this season is "when everything changes in the series."
They say that season 3, which is based on the book Time of Contempt, will be more faithful to the source material than the previous two, as the book is extremely action-packed and "has the best character development that is matched with high-stakes action, high-stakes plot moments."
Fans, however, remain skeptical of Hissrich's statement, as their trust is almost completely depleted.
First of all, contrary to the showrunner's statement, Time of Contempt has very little plot, with the characters just going from one adventure to the next.
This could backfire in an unforeseen way, with die-hard fans of the original already abandoning the series, and those who actually enjoyed the first two seasons ending up disappointed by such changes to the story.
There are also strange contradictions between this interview and the previous ones, when just in February, VFX supervisor Sébastien Francoeur and producer Graeme Marshall said in an interview that " the novels are the guidebook, but not the Bible by any means," explaining why they had to make changes to the source material.
This is in stark contrast to the approach taken by HBO with their television series The Last of Us, which carefully transferred scenes from the game into the show with little noticeable change.
As a result, the show has been praised by fans and critics alike, in stark contrast to the mixed reception The Witcher has received. Looks like it's better to treat the source material like the Bible sometimes...
Fans don't really share the showrunner's optimism, and considering the elephant in the room, which is that season 3 will be the last for Henry Cavill as Geralt, they don't really believe that the show will improve in any way.
The first 5 episodes of The Witcher season 3 will premiere on June 29, 2023.
Sources: Entertainment Weekly, Screen Rant, Reddit