The showrunner for the Netflix show The Witcher, Lauren Schmidt Hissrich denies that the writers of the show “mocked” the novels and the source material that the show is based on.
The Witcher Controversy
For the past couple of weeks, the writers for the Witcher have been scrutinized because of actor Henry Cavill’s departure from the show. His decision is thought to be because the writers of the show have made too many changes to the original source material from The Witcher books by Andrzej Sapkowski.
How did fans of the show come to that conclusion you ask? It all started when former writer for the show Beau DeMayo said that some of the writers of the show “actively mocked” the source material. Fans also went back and visited old Cavill intreviews that showed his annoyance with the direction of the show.
Lauren Schmidt Hissrich Denies the Accusations
But now Hissrich has (finally) come forth and has denied those accusations. She commented to a fan on Instagram on her post.
“I’ve never mocked the books,” Hissrich wrote. “The books are my entire livelihood. I have a great relationship with Mr Sapkowski, and writer’s rooms are sacred and safe and – more than anything – supportive spaces. Don’t believe everything you read.”
A fan quoted Beau on of the comments and Hissrich responded directly to them.
“I have great respect for Beau and the episodes he wrote!” Hissrich replied. “The striga episode is one of my favorites. He wrote the one where people came to Kaer Morhen and Eskel died which had a lot of backlash, but he was brave in telling the story he wanted to tell. It takes a lot of balls to do that. I respect that.”
Damage has Been Done
I appreciate Hissrich taking the time out to address the controversy but it might be too late. Netflix did not say anything about it and ignored it and that was a poor decision. Now, Hissrich finally addresses it and the damage has been done.
The narrative that the Witcher writers hate the source material is something that many people believe. Partly because everything so far has pointed to that conclusion. Not only did a former writer come out and say it, but the lead actor left after saying in an interview he wanted to do all six seasons.
And if that isn’t convincing, you can watch season two and see the alterations made to the source material. The plot for season two is not from the source material and who knows what season three will look like.
Conclusion
Hissrich may say that that the show writers are fans of the source material but that won’t be enough. The chaos surrounding the staff and the show isn’t going to go away. For weeks, fans haven’t heard anything. Hissrich’s statement comes too late and doesn’t do anything as the damage has been done and Cavill is long gone.
Yeah, actions speak louder than words. If they actually respected the source material, they’d have stuck to it instead of doing their own thing :-/
Yea. There still hasn’t been an official statement regarding the controversy.
Totally agree about the lack of statement. It amazes me that these huge companies obviously don’t have someone competent in crisis communication. This really didn’t need to be as bad as it turned out to be.