The Witcher creator Andrzej Sapkowski recently announced that he's writing a new book in the long-running fantasy series.
Sapkowski confirmed that he's currently penning the first installment in the Witcher canon since 2013's Season of Storms (2018 in the US) during a live-stream interview with Ukrainian fans hosted by Fantastic Talk(s). "I never say these things because with me you never know," he said. "Maybe I'll do something, maybe I won't. And so far, when I said that I would write something, and then I didn't write it, people complained as if I had deceived them and as if I had lied. That's why I don't like to talk about what I'm doing until I finish doing it. Because until I finish it, I don't think it exists. But since I always make exceptions for Ukrainians, I will do it this time too. Yes, I'm working on a new book about Witcher and quite diligently. It may take a year, but no longer."
Sapkowski declined to supply further details regarding the as-yet-untitled new Witcher novel, leaving fans to speculate whether protagonist Geralt of Rivia's 10th adventure will be a prequel or sequel outing. It's also unclear whether Netflix currently has plans to adapt Sapkowski's forthcoming tome as a season of its Witcher streaming series. This will presumably depend at least partly on how well showrunner Lauren S. Hissrich and her creative team think the new novel will translate to the small screen. Hissrich opened up about the challenge of reimagining Sapkowski's works in live-action in a previous interview, opining that the relatively action-lite narrative of the third Witcher volume, Blood of Elves, made adapting it especially difficult.
The Witcher EP Defends Changes to the Books
Executive producer Tomek Baginski recently echoed Hissrich's sentiments, insisting that The Witcher's creative team agonized over making changes to the books. He also argued that without any alterations to the canon, the show wouldn't have landed with mainstream audiences. "When a series is made for a huge mass of viewers, with different experiences, from different parts of the world, and a large part of them are Americans, these simplifications not only make sense, they are necessary," Baginski said. "It's painful for us, and for me too, but the higher level of nuance and complexity will have a smaller range, it won't reach people."
Not all of The Witcher's most controversial changes are tied to Sapkowski's novels and short stories, though. The series also spawned intense backlash from fans after Netflix announced that Liam Hemsworth will replace Henry Cavill as Geralt in Season 4. Baginski weighed in on the transition from Cavill to Hemsworth in a recent interview, promising the franchise's devotees that the latter looks "awesome" in his Geralt makeup.
The untitled 10th Witcher book does not yet have a release date.
Source: Fantastic Talk(s), via Redanian Intelligence