When The Witcher debuted on Netflix in 2019, it was to the admiration of both critics and audiences. Sadly, subsequent seasons of the show have failed to attain the same level of hype as the first season. While there’s no conclusive evidence to support it, many fans believe the show dipped in popularity because it strayed very far from its source material – Andrzej Sapkowski’s book series of the same name.
If that hadn’t happened, there’s a high chance it might have become even more popular, especially since its relative lack of faithfulness probably discouraged some fans of the books as well as others who like the games from watching.
Sapkowski recently added fuel to that fire claiming he shared his ideas about the film with the showrunners but they didn’t listen to him. Sapkowski revealed this during a recent interview with Cerealkillerz at Vienna Comic Con. The 75-year-old author said that, during his visit to the “tremendous” production set, he offered the showrunners his ideas on the show “but they never listen.”
While the author didn’t speak ill of the crew and showrunners, he was evidently disappointed at their disregard for his thoughts. Even though he had an air of calm around him, his words revealed his true sentiments. He took on a sarcastic tone during his response and told his host “Who’s this? It’s the writer, it’s nobody,” in a barely veiled swipe at the showrunners for discarding his ideas.
That The Witcher’s showrunners disregarded the input of the author isn’t a bad thing in itself – it happens all the time. But, it’s a problem when the show could’ve been better if the showrunners had listened instead.
Sapkowski’s comments further fueled the rage of Witcher fans, who have begun to fume anew at Netflix for dropping the ball on the show’s quality despite a producer’s protests that the changes were necessary.
Some of the rage was directed at how the streamer treated lead actor Henry Cavill, who exited the show last year. Cavill is notorious for disagreeing with the showrunners on its direction as he wanted it to be faithful to the source material.
While Netflix hasn’t offered any official explanation for Cavill’s exit, one of the directors implied that Cavill left because the show was demanding. However, that is hard to believe. Hollywood has numerous challenging shows and none has had a lead actor exit after just three seasons. It is too short a timeframe for that to happen, unless there is another underlying reason.
In his place, the youngest Hemsworth brother, Liam, will pick up The Witcher’s medallion and the executive producer believes he looks awesome as the character. Interestingly, Liam auditioned for the role when the show was starting out but didn’t get it. With Cavill’s exit, he has received a second chance to play the beloved character. Unfortunately, his debut is now delayed. Although production is back on track, the recent WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes have effectively pushed back the fourth season’s timeline.
Given the numerous problems the show has run into, including Cavill’s exit and declining views, one would hope the showrunners have learned their lessons. While it is too late to bring Cavill back, there is still time to align the show’s story with that of the books as well as listen to Sapkowski’s ideas.
With the show still far off, fans can keep themselves busy with the first three seasons which are available for streaming on Netflix.
