The Witcher Author Weighs In On Differences Between Books And Netflix Show
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Featured Image Credit: Netflix
So, how are we feeling about season two of The Witcher, then? While I think it’s fair to say that the hit Netflix adaptation is definitely still one of the best shows on the streaming platform at the moment, some of the changes made in the most recent season are causing controversy amongst fans, to say the least (don’t worry, this is a spoiler free zone).
The series is, of course, based on the original collection of books by author Andrzej Sapkowski, and although it’s mostly been a faithful adaptation, there’s no doubt that some certain changes feel like they could be heading slightly into fanfiction territory. Which, understandably, has left some fans wondering if the author actually approves of any of it.
In case you needed a refresher, check out the trailer for season two of The Witcher below.
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Well, it would seem that isn’t really a concern for Sapkowski. In an interview uploaded to Festiwal Fantastyki Pyrkon’s YouTube channel (and translated by the team at Redanian Intelligence), the author said: “Creators of adaptations of literary works for other media have the right to be sovereign creators, with an unrestricted right to creative freedom. In the particular case of this adaptation, their ideas can be different than mine. And even when some of their ideas are different than mine, so what? My books are not the Bible.”
Obviously though, just because the author is happy with the changes, that doesn’t automatically make everything okay for the audience, as fans have been discussing on Reddit: “Nobody says the showrunners don't have a right to do what they want with the IP. Just as we have a right to dislike it,” said u/Veleda390. “The main issue for me, and many others I feel, is not that every adaptation has to be exact, it’s that the team behind the show made a huge show of how accurate to the books the show would be. Then proceeded to not at all,” added NicktheWorldbuilder.
Regardless of the most recent controversy, season three of The Witcher is still confirmed, although we haven’t got a release date for it yet. If the gap between season one and two is anything to go by, we might not see the third until 2023, but hey, at least that gives us a bit more time to emotionally process the events of the most recent episodes first.
Topics: The Witcher, Netflix, TV And Film
