Author of The Witcher series Andrzej Sapkowski isn’t too ecstatic about the Netflix adaption as he is quoted saying “I’ve seen better. I’ve seen worse.”
One Controversy After Another
Things haven’t looked good for Netflix and the show ever since a controversy arose that claimed that the writers of the show hated the source material. Since then, actor Henry Cavill has left the show and fans have been angry ever since.
Now, we are finding out that the author of the book isn’t much of a fan of the show. He was, however, a fan of Cavill as Geralt of Rivia.
“I was more than happy with Henry Cavill’s appearance as The Witcher, he’s a real professional. Just as Viggo Mortensen gave his face to Aragorn, so Henry gave his to Geralt and it shall be forever so,” said Sapkowski.
Many fans agree with that sentiment. I loved the first season of The Witcher mostly because of how amazing Cavill was as Geralt. The second season was not that great in my opinion but I remember thinking how good Cavill is as Geralt. With him gone, there is very little reason to watch the show.
The show deviates from the books and while that is to be expected, season two went too far. They added their own twist to the show which wasn’t in the books. A character who was a fan favorite was ruined.
Suddenly, all the rumors about the writers “actively disliking the source material” made sense. Why else would they change the source material? The books are complete and everything is there to adapt the books.
We saw A Game of Thrones struggle without a source material. Once the HBO show passed the books, they didn’t know what to do. Author George R.R. Martin had little say and that was a big part of why the last two seasons weren’t as good. When Martin pitched The House of the Dragon to HBO, he wanted more say so the same thing wouldn’t happen again.
It seems like Netflix did not learn anything from that. From the outside, it appears as if Netflix has let the creators and writers of The Witcher do their thing without interference. When the controversy with the writers happened, Netflix did not release any statement and that has still been the case.
The Beginning of the End
This statement by Sapkowski might be the final blow that sinks the ship. If the author isn’t a fan of the show, why should the fans of the books do the same? Sapkowski has said in the past that he enjoyed the first season even if it wasn’t fully honest to the books.
“Why not…I am (fan of the show). It’s far from my books. Well, but adaptations are like that,” said Sapkowski.
But now, he is taking a more neutral stance. It makes sense because what he liked the most about the show was Henry Cavill as Geralt. Without that, the show has very little to offer. This might be the end of Witchers as we know it for Netflix.
I’m sure he is also upset about the increase in books sales and royalties…..
Before the show, he had royalties from the game so he was already well off. It sounds like he knew what to expect from the adaption and was just answering a question about his feelings on it.