Further antics of Geralt of Rivia will be hitting living rooms, as Netflix has partnered with Polish production studio Platige Image to create The Witcher TV series. This series will be based on The Witcher Saga novels, written by Andrzej Sapkowski (who serves as creative consultant on the series).
The news came via an announcement from Platige itself, who confirmed that it has some serious talent on board. The Expanse’s Sean Daniel and Jason Brown are on board as executive producers, while Oscar nominee and BAFTA winner Tomek Baginski will direct.
We started production of the series based on “The Witcher” in coop. with @NetflixUS and SeanDanielCompany. Tomek #Bagiński one of the dir! pic.twitter.com/hYXWCHySOF
— Platige Image (@PlatigeImage) May 17, 2017
“The Witcher stories follow an unconventional family that comes together to fight for truth in a dangerous world,” said executive producers, Sean Daniel and Jason Brown. “The characters are original, funny and constantly surprising and we can’t wait to bring them to life at Netflix, the perfect home for innovative storytelling.”
According to the Platige press release, this will be an English-language drama series and will explore Geralt of Rivia’s life and adventures, just as the video game series has from CD Projekt Red.
Show writer Lauren S. Hissrich took to Twitter this week to announce that casting was underway.
It's Friday night in LA, and it's been a seriously great week here at #Witcher.
So.
Let's talk casting. Yes, I said the magic word! Casting is starting soon, and no, I can't tell you who our top picks are so don't ask. But. There is something very important you need to know. pic.twitter.com/9dfkhBIyo0
— Lauren S. Hissrich (@LHissrich) June 23, 2018
Given they’re casting the net wide in terms of talent, the writing team has created special scripts for auditioning actors. Fans hoping to glean more info about the series will be disappointed that these scripts aren’t from the actual show.
“These are written to illustrate the precise tone, vibe, depth, and emotional resonance we need from Geralt and friends,” Hissrich explained. “But voila! They are spoiler-free, for us and for you.”
So fans will still have to wait until more official announcements are made.
It seems that series author Sapkowski is pretty psyched about the Netflix series too, although the same cannot be said about his reaction to the video game series.
“I’m thrilled that Netflix will be doing an adaptation of my stories, staying true to the source material and themes that I have spent over 30 years writing,” said Sapkowski. “I’m excited about our efforts together, as well as the team assembled to shepherd these characters to life.”
When quizzed on his reaction to The Witcher game series, he admitted he isn’t a gamer in any way or form, although he could appreciate their graphics and other elements. But he was quite vocal to Eurogamer Poland about the series:
“Adaptations – although they can in a way relate to the story told in the books – can never aspire to the role of a follow-up. They can never add prologues nor prequels, let alone epilogues and sequels,” explained Sapkowski.
“Maybe it’s time to set the matters straight,” he went on. “The Witcher is a well-made video game, its success is well deserved and the creators deserve all the splendour and honour due. But in no way can it be considered to be an ‘alternative version’, nor a ‘sequel’ to the witcher Geralt stories. Because this can only be told by Geralt’s creator. A certain Andrzej Sapkowski.”