Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski has promised fans that Netflix’s adaptation of his The Witcher saga will differ from HBO’s Game of Thrones in a very specific way. His series of fantasy novels and short stories following the Witcher, Geralt of Rivia, has been endlessly compared to Geroge R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire ever since Netflix announced they would be adapting Saplowski’s work. A Song of Ice and Fire was famously adapted in HBO’s Game of Thrones nearly a decade ago before concluding this year. That finale left many fans disappointed, which perhaps provided Netflix with the perfect opportunity to introduce their new fantasy series.
The Witcher is arguably already a more popular series in its first season than that of Game of Thrones (thanks in no small part to the RPG titles). While Game of Thrones had a reported $6 million budget per episode in its premiere season, The Witcher had a reported $12 million or more budget per episode. The Witcher is in the unique position of already having a huge following as well as a completed collection of source material (something Game of Thrones didn’t have). A lot of fans criticized Game of Thrones once it overtook Martin’s novels; as the show’s popularity and the budget increased, the showrunners seemed to prioritize cinematic flair, bigger battles, CGI, and celebrity cameos over plot.
Similar to Martin’s role in the making of Game of Thrones, Sapkowski’s a creative consultant on The Witcher. The two series are already quite a bit different; Sapkowski elaborated on this at a Warsaw Comic-Con back in 2018 (h/t ComicBook.com) when he mentioned the one Game of Thrones mistake he’d be sure The Witcher didn’t make.
“I believe that my job as a creative consultant for this series is to make sure that at NO point in the show [will] Ed Sheeran sing. And that I will make sure doesn’t happen. I will make sure.”
Sapkowski’s remarks are in reference to a cameo made by Ed Sheeran as a singing Lannister soldier in Game of Thrones' seventh season. At this point in the series, musician cameos were a regular occurrence on the show; the band Sigur Rós performed at Joffrey’s wedding in season four, Mastodon appeared in season five’s “Hardhome,” and Coldplay drummer Will Champion played at the Red Wedding. While none of those appearances were ridiculed, Sheeran’s cameo was criticized as being distracting and silly. Aside from musicians, Game of Thrones has allowed various celebrities to cameo over the course of its eight seasons (from comedians and actors to professional athletes like Aaron Rodgers).
Sapkowski’s comments, while tongue in cheek, bring to mind Game of Thrones’ missteps as a whole. Promising to eliminate gimmicks such as celebrity cameos to boost ratings re-establishes the thing a lot of fans were thinking when the credits rolled on Game of Thrones: David Benioff and Dan Weiss didn’t spend as much time developing the narrative in later seasons as they should have. Hopefully, with already spectacular Netflix ratings and proven source material, The Witcher continues to tell as faithful of a story as possible.
Source: ComicBook.com
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