Netflix announced Wednesday that it’ll be adapting “The Witcher” — the internationally popular book and video game franchise — into an English language drama series.
“The Witcher Saga” was originally a series of fantasy books written by Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski, which has been translated into more than 20 languages. The stories generally follow a witcher — or a mutated monster hunter — named Geralt of Rivia. There are five novels in the main saga, along with a number of short stories and one standalone novel.
There are three “Witcher” games, which are based on the saga and are developed by CD Projekt Red, which is a Polish game studio. The most recent one, “The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt,” was released in 2015 to great critical acclaim.
Both the saga and the games mainly follow the relationship between Geralt and Ciri — who is a princess and a witcher-in-training.
“I’m thrilled that Netflix will be doing an adaptation of my stories, staying true to the source material and the themes that I have spent over thirty years writing,” Sapkowski said in a statement. “I’m excited about our efforts together, as well as the team assembled to shepherd these characters to life.”
The stories feature many familiar fantasy tropes, such as vampires, elves, ghosts, dragons and many others.
“Andrzej Sapkowski has created a rich and memorable world, at once magical and familiar,” said Erik Barmack, Netflix Vice President of international series. “We couldn’t be more excited about bringing The Witcher saga to Netflix members around the world.”
Sapkowski will serve as a creative consultant on the series. Sean Daniel (“The Mummy”) and Jason Brown (“The Expanse”) are executive producers, along with Tomek Baginski and Jarek Sawko, who are from Platige Image, a Polisy production company.
“There is a moral and intellectual depth in these books which goes beyond genre. It is a story about today and today’s challenges, hidden under a fantasy cover. It is a story about us, about the monster and the hero inside all of our hearts,” Baginski and Sawko said.
A premiere date has not yet been announced.