The Witcher Showrunner Denies All The Controversial Allegations
Netflix’s The Witcher seems like it could be in serious trouble after it was revealed by former writer Beau DeMayo that the writers weren’t fans of the source material by Andrzej Sapkowski and would openly mock it. However, showrunner Lauren S. Hissrich set out to debunk these allegations, saying “I think if you watch…any interview I’ve ever done…including those with [Andrzej Sapkowski]…you’ll see that I am quite a fan of the books [and the games]. Do you believe…that when one person states something as fact, that it’s therefore fact?” (via Murphy’s Multiverse)
While The Witcher showrunner is undoubtedly going to try and do damage control after allegations like these, it might be a little too late. Fans were already skeptical of the show, giving it middling reviews. Most were sticking around because they loved Henry Cavill’s performance as Geralt of Rivia and his dedication to bringing that character and Sapkowski’s world to life.
However, now fans won’t even be getting Henry Cavill in The Witcher anymore, as he’s being replaced in the fourth season by Liam Hemsworth. Cavill has long been pushing for the show to more closely follow the storyline of the books and the video games, but the Netflix series has been hit-or-miss in that regard. Cavill also announced his departure very shortly after these allegations about the writers came out, so the timing is definitely suspicious.
Even if the rumors about The Witcher writers are untrue, fans aren’t happy with the casting choice. Unless the ship can be righted and the writers figure out how to tell an amazing story in future seasons, we might not get past Liam Hemsworth’s first run as the character. Of course, we still do have one more season of Henry Cavill in the role, so we’ll have to see how that pans out.
The Witcher now has two seasons under its belt and stars Henry Cavill as Geralt, a genetically-altered monster hunter who is linked by destiny to protect the Princess Ciri of Cintra (Freya Allen). The series also stars Eamon Farren, Anya Chalotra, Joey Batey, MyAnna Buring, Royce Pierreson, Mimi M. Khayisa, Wilson Mbomio, Anna Shaffer, Mahesh Jadu, Tom Canton, Mecia Simson, and Kim Bodnia. Along with the original series, Netflix has also released an animated film called The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf.
Despite these setbacks, Netflix seems intent on moving forward with its plans for The Witcher franchise. Along with recasting Henry Cavill for the main series, they’re also releasing a prequel series titled The Witcher: Blood Origin on December 25. It appears that we’ll be getting more from the franchise whether the fans like it or not.
Outside of TV, The Witcher franchise is doing as well as ever. CD Projekt Red, the developers of The Witcher 3 video game, is releasing a free next-gen update for owners of the game on December 14. There is also a remake of the original The Witcher in the works being developed using Unreal Engine 5. The same engine will be used for the fourth entry in the video game series, which will kick off a new trilogy of games.
In the meantime, you can catch the previous two seasons of The Witcher on Netflix. You can also watch out for Henry Cavill’s last appearance as Geralt when the show returns in the Summer of 2023. But if you want the best Witcher experience you could always just play the game when that next-gen update comes out.
