The Witcher creator Andrzej Sapkowski has opened up about his collaboration (or lack thereof!) with Netflix on the streamer's flagship fantasy series.
During an interview with the Austrian gaming site, Cerealkillerz at Vienna Comic Con, Sapkowksi shared that, whilst he's shared some ideas about The Witcher — which returned for The Witcher season 3 earlier in the year — they've never paid much attention to his ideas for the show!
Asked if he ever offered any feedback on the Netflix adaptation, Sapkowski said: "Maybe I gave them some ideas, but they never listened to me, they never listen." Laughing, he joked that this is the 'normal' process whilst pretending to be some sort of executive dismissing his work: "It's normal, it's normal, 'Who's this? It's a writer, it's nobody'".
That might sound like bad news, but Sapkowksi at least started his answer by heaping praise on how they've brought his books to life. "The set was tremendous, tremendous", he emphasized.
Sapkowski's comments probably aren't the type of press that Netflix would like, given the reaction to Henry Cavill's departure from the franchise didn't exactly go down well, and the reaction to season 3 wasn't too great, either.
The Witcher season 3 currently has an audience rating of just 19% on Rotten Tomatoes, indicating that viewers of the series weren't exactly thrilled with how the series has progressed. Maybe once we see our new Geralt of Rivia in action — Liam Hemsworth is picking up Geralt's swords for season 4 and beyond — fan expectations will turn around.
In more positive Witcher news, Andrzej Sapkowski's new Witcher book has a global release date; the novel will be released in Poland in 2024, followed by a worldwide release in 2025.
If you can't wait that long to see Geralt back in action, Netflix recently released a teaser for The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep, a new animated project that looks set to pit the White Wolf against a legion of underwater creatures. It's coming our way in "Late 2024".
The first three seasons of The Witcher are available to stream on Netflix; a fourth season is in development, but does not yet have a release date. If you're looking for a new series to stream in the meantime, check out our picks for the best Netflix shows and the best fantasy shows on Netflix that we think you shouldn't miss.
