The cast and showrunner of The Witcher have spoken about the future direction of the show’s planned seven seasons, and how the original novels will always be the guiding light.
Talking to IGN, The Witcher showrunner and Executive Producer, Lauren Schmidt Hissrich, said of the seven season plan, “It would be a straight translation of the books… I think there's just so much material that I don't feel the need to start inventing my own to keep it going.”
“We really try to stick to a book a season,” she elaborated. “We did combine some of the short stories for the first season, and there are things in the short stories that we want to continue to return to, because there was just too much good material to tell in eight episodes. So for instance, that's why we did A Grain of Truth at the beginning of this season, and it's our hope to keep peppering those in as we go.”
“For me, it is all about the books,” said Henry Cavill, who plays Geralt of Rivia. “The books are so nuanced, and there is so much complexity to the characters in there that it is ultimately that. As far as the show goes, I just want to make sure that the character and the books are done justice in live action, because I'm always of the mind that if it's not broken, don't try and fix it. And I don't think they're broken, and I absolutely love those books. For me, that's my focus.”
“If there are things that happen after that, then exciting things to explore as well,” Cavill continued. “Because it's a fantasy world and we don't quite know what happens to Geralt at the end of the books. There's a strong suggestion, but then we also have the games, which have happened after the books, and then the games all have different endings as well, so maybe something happens after that? Maybe something has happened before that? I've actually heard that Sapkowski spoke once about writing another book, and whether it was just going to be a solo adventure of Geralt or something else I do not know, but that could be interesting to explore as well.”
As far as Hissrich is concerned, any exploration beyond the books would likely come in one of the spin-off shows. “I think that one of the beauties of building out a Witcher universe is that you can actually use those spin-offs to do slightly different things than the books did,” she said. “But to me that actually makes it even more important that in the mothership series we always stick to what Sapkowski intended. To me, I just don't think it's my responsibility to continue those stories when he clearly felt there was a natural ending.”
Henry Cavill has previously said that he is committed to playing Geralt until that ending, and Yennefer and Jaskier actors Anya Chalotra and Joey Batey are on-board, too. “I'd follow Lauren to the ends of the Earth,” said Batey. “This show has given me so much, I would support the show and be in it until the end,” added Chalotra.
Chalotra is unsure exactly where Yennefer’s story will take her over the planned seven seasons, due to the amount of original material included. “From the books we all know where it's headed, and I just can't wait to kind of fulfill that and enhance those character's storylines. A lot of Yennefer's storylines have been created, so anything's possible really.”
The same can be said for Jaskier, which makes Batey excited for what’s to come. “I think Lauren [Scmidt Hissrich] gets to have fun with some of the characters we don't see as much in the books,” he says. “And so the writing team get to go 'Ah! Fun, where do we put them in this world?'. So I'm keen for the surprises.”
Freya Allen, who plays Ciri, has one thing she definitely wants to achieve before the seven seasons are done. “One thing I definitely want is for her to finally get a nice silver sword rather than this wooden stick that she's currently got,” she says. “And I want to see her fight monsters and fight people.”
For more from The Witcher, check out the plan for introducing The Wild Hunt into the show, as well as Henry Cavill saying he’d like Blood & Wine’s Toussaint region to feature in the show. We’ve also got Henry Cavill talking about characters he’d like to play in a Warhammer show, and our The Witcher season 2 review.
Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer.
Continue reading...
Talking to IGN, The Witcher showrunner and Executive Producer, Lauren Schmidt Hissrich, said of the seven season plan, “It would be a straight translation of the books… I think there's just so much material that I don't feel the need to start inventing my own to keep it going.”
“We really try to stick to a book a season,” she elaborated. “We did combine some of the short stories for the first season, and there are things in the short stories that we want to continue to return to, because there was just too much good material to tell in eight episodes. So for instance, that's why we did A Grain of Truth at the beginning of this season, and it's our hope to keep peppering those in as we go.”
“For me, it is all about the books,” said Henry Cavill, who plays Geralt of Rivia. “The books are so nuanced, and there is so much complexity to the characters in there that it is ultimately that. As far as the show goes, I just want to make sure that the character and the books are done justice in live action, because I'm always of the mind that if it's not broken, don't try and fix it. And I don't think they're broken, and I absolutely love those books. For me, that's my focus.”
“If there are things that happen after that, then exciting things to explore as well,” Cavill continued. “Because it's a fantasy world and we don't quite know what happens to Geralt at the end of the books. There's a strong suggestion, but then we also have the games, which have happened after the books, and then the games all have different endings as well, so maybe something happens after that? Maybe something has happened before that? I've actually heard that Sapkowski spoke once about writing another book, and whether it was just going to be a solo adventure of Geralt or something else I do not know, but that could be interesting to explore as well.”
As far as Hissrich is concerned, any exploration beyond the books would likely come in one of the spin-off shows. “I think that one of the beauties of building out a Witcher universe is that you can actually use those spin-offs to do slightly different things than the books did,” she said. “But to me that actually makes it even more important that in the mothership series we always stick to what Sapkowski intended. To me, I just don't think it's my responsibility to continue those stories when he clearly felt there was a natural ending.”
Henry Cavill has previously said that he is committed to playing Geralt until that ending, and Yennefer and Jaskier actors Anya Chalotra and Joey Batey are on-board, too. “I'd follow Lauren to the ends of the Earth,” said Batey. “This show has given me so much, I would support the show and be in it until the end,” added Chalotra.
Chalotra is unsure exactly where Yennefer’s story will take her over the planned seven seasons, due to the amount of original material included. “From the books we all know where it's headed, and I just can't wait to kind of fulfill that and enhance those character's storylines. A lot of Yennefer's storylines have been created, so anything's possible really.”
The same can be said for Jaskier, which makes Batey excited for what’s to come. “I think Lauren [Scmidt Hissrich] gets to have fun with some of the characters we don't see as much in the books,” he says. “And so the writing team get to go 'Ah! Fun, where do we put them in this world?'. So I'm keen for the surprises.”
Freya Allen, who plays Ciri, has one thing she definitely wants to achieve before the seven seasons are done. “One thing I definitely want is for her to finally get a nice silver sword rather than this wooden stick that she's currently got,” she says. “And I want to see her fight monsters and fight people.”
For more from The Witcher, check out the plan for introducing The Wild Hunt into the show, as well as Henry Cavill saying he’d like Blood & Wine’s Toussaint region to feature in the show. We’ve also got Henry Cavill talking about characters he’d like to play in a Warhammer show, and our The Witcher season 2 review.
Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer.
Continue reading...