Netflix's live-action adaptation of The Witcher has been a tremendous success since hitting the streaming service back in December. Its immense popularity has helped make the fantasy franchise more popular than ever before, providing a major boost to both sales of the original novels and CD Projekt RED-developed video game series.
With the news that a second season and anime movie are both now in the works, the world is well and truly gripped by Witcher fever. In the face of all this success, you'd imagine Andrzej Sapkowski, the author behind the original novels from which the show and games both spring, would be over the moon. As it turns out, he's not too fussed. That, or he's playing it incredibly cool.
In an incredible new interview with io9 , the Polish author essentially refused to dish out praise or criticism for the Netflix series. When asked what he thought translated well from the books to show, Sapkowski simply explained that because his name appears in the credits, he feels he "cannot praise the show". He added that to do so "wouldn't be decent".
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Similarly, when asked what he thought didn't work in the show, he said that he'd "have to be an idiot to say," reminding us again that his name appears in the credits. That hasn't stopped showrunner Lauren S. Hissrich from being fairly open about what she liked/didn't like about the first season but... whatever, I guess.
Sapkowski also, rather brilliantly, revealed just how involved in the development of the show he actually was. "Not very much," he admitted. "On my own request. I do not like working too hard or too long. By the way, I do not like working at all." I feel you, man.
The writer was equally dry when asked how he felt about the success of the show leading to a surge in sales of the original novels.
"How do you expect I answer this question?" he asked. "That I despaired? Shed tears? Considered suicide? No sir. My feelings were rather obvious and not excessively complex." Fair enough then.
Finally, Sapkowski shared his opinion on video games, specifically the way in which is books compare to CD Projekt Red's games. Would you believe he's never played a video game?
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"I cannot compare anything to video games, because I have never played any," he said. "Since I was a kid I haven't played any games - with a possible exception of bridge and poker. Video games are simply not for me, I prefer books as entertainment. Anyway, in my opinion TV series and video games - any of them - cannot be compared. They are too different in approach, making - and objective. You cannot compare spaghetti carbonara with a bicycle."
A truly illuminating conversation, right?
Featured Image Credit: Netflix/CD Projekt REDTopics: The Witcher, CD Projekt Red