Netflix is just days away from releasing The Witcher, its adaptation of author Andrzej Sapkowski’s popular fantasy novels. But there’s a snag: the first season of The Witcher is adapting the first two of those books: The Last Wish and Sword of Destiny. But those books are more short story collections than proper novels. Each chapter follows lead character Geralt of Rivia (Henry Cavill) as he wanders the Continent, fighting monsters, making money, and getting him into and out of many a compromising situation. The “Witcher saga” proper doesn’t really start until the third book, Blood of Elves, which Netflix will presumably start adapting with the already greenlit season 2.
So will the first season of The Witcher be more episodic? Probably, but showrunner Lauren Hissrich has said she still wants it to tell a complete story, so she and her team have changed things round a bit to give it more structure. That’s clearly on display in the newest trailer for the show, which underlines the importance of Princess Cirilla (Freya Allan) and the hostile nation of Nilfgaard, big picture elements that should help tie the room together. Watch below:
Witcher fans will probably recognize some key events from the novels here, including the Battle of Sodden (I think) and the invasion of Cintra. And it’s also nice to see Joey Batey in action as the bard Jaskier (known as Dandelion in the books and the video games by CD Projekt Red).
All that and an original song! The Witcher drops on December 20.
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