‘They never listened to me’: The author of the Witcher books is very bitter about Netflix

The author behind the literary saga Witcher — who adapted The Witcher for Netflix — had a few words to say about his relationship with the platform. rather, on its absence. Polish fantasy writer Andrzej Sapkowski claims that Netflix “never listened“His ideas for a live-action TV series adaptation of his novels.

Last week at Vienna Comic-Con, The Hollywood Reporter It tells of the time someone asked Sapkowski if he gave Netflix feedback, and he laughed:

“Maybe I gave them some ideas, but they never listened. But that’s normal.“Then he impersonated a Netflix executive and said in a dismissive tone:”Who is ? He is a writer, he is nobody.“

Netflix has not commented. But the Witcher team has fallen on hard times in recent years. Difficult, because dealing with passionate fans of the novels is strained to say the least. They continued to criticize the writers for the many liberties the series took compared to Sapkowski’s novels.

All of this tension crystallized around the departure of series star Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia after the third season. Although the reason for his departure remains unclear, everyone knows that Cavill is a huge fan of Sapkowski’s books. And he repeatedly stressed the importance of staying true to the original material.

Henry Cavill announced a few months before leaving the series The Hollywood Reporter that he put seven seasons”As long as we can continue to tell great stories that honor Sapkowski’s workThe actor will eventually be replaced by Liam Hemsworth in the fourth season.

Following Cavill’s departure, Bo De Maio, one of the show’s writers for the first two seasons, shared some confidence during a Q&A session on his Instagram Stories:

“I was in a series – The Witcher – where some of the writers really didn’t like the books and games (even going so far as to make fun of the source material). This is a recipe for disaster and bad morale.

Fandom, like a litmus test, checks the ego and evaluates all the long nights. You must respect the work before you add anything to its legacy.“

Lauren Schmidt Hisrich, creator and showrunner of The Witcher, was asked about DeMaio’s comments and responded Instagram :

“I have never laughed at books. Books are my livelihood. I have a great relationship with Mr. Sapkowski, and the writers’ rooms are sacred, safe spaces, and above all, supportive spaces. Don’t believe everything you read.“

Still, The Witcher remains a success, with the third season amassing 99.4 million hours, according to Nielsen, and spending eight weeks in Netflix’s top 10. However, the series lost 36% of viewers compared to the second season.