Netflix announces The Witcher Saga series plans

May 18, 2017 | 10:49

Tags: #andrzej-sapkowski #the-witcher #witcher

Companies: #cd-projekt #cd-projekt-red #netflix

Video streaming giant Netflix has confirmed it is working on an adaptation of Andrzej Sapkowski's The Witcher Saga, as popularised by the eponymous game franchise from CD Projekt.

As part of its attempt to convince people to subscribe, Netflix shores up its cache of licensed works with 'Netflix Originals.' Some of these are more original than others, of course: there are the Netflix Originals for which the company funds and oversees development, and the ones for which the company simply enters into exclusive licensing on shows that already exist. The Witcher, the company is keen to explain, is most definitely the former.

'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,' claimed author Sapkowski of the deal, which sees him acting as creative consultant for the show. 'I'm excited about our efforts together, as well as the team assembled to shepherd these characters to life.'

While The Witcher Saga is best known to fantasy fans outside Poland as the basis for CD Projekt's smash hit franchise based on the works, Netflix' attempt to bring it to the small screen isn't the first: Straight-to-video film The Hexer, originally released in Poland as the TV miniseries Wiedzmin, took Sapkowski's hero Geralt of Rivia into a world which was panned by critics upon its release.

Netflix has confirmed Sean Daniel and Jason Brown, who worked together on science fiction series The Expanse, as leading the production team, along with Polish directors Tomek Bagiński and Jarek Sawko who worked together on BAFTA-winning The Fallen Art. 'There is a moral and intellectual depth in these books which goes beyond genre,' claimed Bagiński and Sawko in a joint statement. 'It is a story about today and today’s challenges, hidden under a fantasy cover. It is a story about us, about the monster and the hero inside all of our hearts.'

The Witcher Saga is expected to appear on Netflix some time next year.
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