Netflix’s The Witcher ‘goes in a different direction’ to the games

Netflix’s The Witcher show takes the franchise in a different direction to CD Projekt’s popular video game series, according to showrunner Lauren Hissrich.

Like the games, the upcoming live-action show – which stars Superman actor Henry Cavill as monster hunter Geralt of Rivia – is based on the fantasy series created by Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski.

“We’re not adapting the videogames, it’s a straight adaptation of the books,” Hissrich told Entertainment Weekly. “Which is great as the videogames are also an adaptation of the books. They went one direction, we actually get to go another. We’re kind of holding close to our chest what we’re doing in the first season.

“There’s a lot of obviously epic excitement that starts in the saga of the books. But the short stories provided a lot of world building and lay the foundation of this Continent and the politics of it and the understanding of the people of it and those really came into focus in the first season.”

• Related: Netflix reveals The Witcher images featuring Henry Cavill as Geralt

Hissrich also believes The Witcher’s “monster and horror aspect” will help differentiate it from other fantasy shows.

“It’s been done occasionally on fantasy shows but it takes a backseat to magic a lot of the time,” she said. “Geralt’s a monster hunter so from the very beginning we talked about how to show these monsters and the humans they interact with.

“I think people are going to be surprised by how many monsters we were able to do and how integral they are to story. It really feels like the monster stories become analogs for bigger things happening in the world right now in different political phenomenons.”

Netflix plans to launch The Witcher in the fourth quarter of 2019, with the first season consisting of eight one-hour episodes. It’s hosing a San Diego Comic-Con panel for the show tonight.