Netflix’s The Witcher was purposefully designed to be a TV adaptation of the series of fantasy stories by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski and not the CD Projekt Red video games, despite U.S. viewers being more familiar with the games than the books, according to showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich.
“I think Amercian audiences mostly know about Geralt from the video games,” Hissrich said, while speaking to host Brandon Jenkins on Netflix’s Behind the Scenes podcast. “The answer [to why the show adapts the books] is very simple though and it’s that the video games are are based on the books. They are an adaptation of the books. For me it didn’t make sense to make an adaptation of an adaptation of something.”
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“What that does is allow us to tell The Witcher story but just in a different way,” she added. “I think a lot of video game fans are concerned that we’re taking something from them. That we’re usurping something that’s theirs. And the truth is, I love the video games. They are not going anywhere. They are insanely successful. I can only hope that our show is that successful. The video games aren’t going anywhere and the books aren’t going anywhere. This is just a third way to enjoy these same characters and this same world.”
Speaking of The Witcher video games, CD Projekt Red just struck a new deal with author Andrzej Sapkowski to continue making Witcher games.
Meanwhile, showrunner Hissrich has stated that The Witcher: Season 2 will land in 2021 and be much more linear in its storytelling.
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Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN and a member of the Television Critics Association. Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and Facebook at Facebook.com/MattBFowler.
Source: IGN.com Why Netflix's The Witcher Adapted the Books and Not the Video Games