Witcher TV series coming to Netflix, CD Projekt Red not involved
There’s good news and there’s bad news. The good news is that there seems to be a Netflix series in the making, based on the Witcher saga. The bad news is that the people who actually made it popular in the West are not really involved.
Netflix will be working with Platige Image, a Polish studio in charge of production and visual effects, with Sapkowski, the author of the novels, serving as a creative consultant. Sapkowski has infamously been rather negative of the game series, even going as far as saying that they “cost him sales” and that it was his books that made the games popular, not the other way around. He seems very excited about Netflix picking up his fantasy novels and one can guess this is because his knowledge of gaming as a medium is not as good as his knowledge of TV and film. To put it simply, this is the language he can understand. “I’m thrilled that Netflix will be doing an adaptation of my stories, staying true to the source material and the themes that I have spent over thirty years writing”, he said.
Netflix’s VP for international series, Erik Barmack, said that “Andrzej Sapkowski has created a rich and memorable world, at once magical and familiar” and that they “couldn’t be more excited about bringing [it to] Netflix members around the world”.
Other notable names involved in the project include Sean Daniel and Jason Brown who are producers of the successful sci-fi show Expanse, as well as Tomasz Bagiński, Polish illustrator, animator and director, who has directed the intros to all three Witcher games (his intro to The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, can be seen above).
The developer of Witcher games, CD Projekt Red stated that they are not involved in the project, wished it all the best and said they are “looking forward to watching the series on Netflix”. They are currently busy with Cyberpunk 2077 and Gwent.
To say we will follow this project with interest is an understatement. We will keep you posted about any potential cast members. Is there anyone you think would be a great fit for Geralt?
