Fantasy Netflix's The Witcher - General Discussion Thread

[OutOfBoose]

All indication is that they are using Jaskier for Dandelion in the TV series.

Which is rather weird.

 

[Iceman]

In other words, it's the question of detaching yourself from a specific iteration. I saw LOTR illustrations prior to reading the books. Aragorn didn't seem manly enough in the films, Frodo was too young, Galadriel isn't pretty enough, elves looked too ordinary (they also didn't ride horses without a saddle), many characters that I looked forward to were absent in films and so on... But LOTR films (theatrical versions) are still bloody amazing adaptations, even if different from books or illustrations that I saw prior to them. I know it's hard to "let it go" and judge it on it's own merits, but it's getting too obsessive. Concentrate on the essence, not superficial stuff like eye color.

Yeah, I was really looking forward to Glorfindel, Prince Imrahil and the Sons of Elrond. None appeared in the films, but that doesn’t meant the trilogy isn’t my all time favourite.

 

[Loden Greatstorm]

Hoping for some set pics.

 

[OutOfBoose]

I want spy pics if it will force Netflix to release official promo materials.

 

[Loden Greatstorm]

I want spy pics if it will force Netflix to release official promo materials.

Indeed.

 

[OutOfBoose]

lol

Also, I just learned Triss studied in Hogwarts.

 

[Iceman]

Ah, that’s cool.

 

[OutOfBoose]

Huh, totally didn't recognize Eamon Farren as Cahir on the cast sheet. I remembered him from Twin Peaks season 3. He played a scary person very well. Contrast of physical beauty and very evil behavior. Pretty version of Frank Booth of sorts. Looks like a great choice.

 

[OutOfBoose]

Yeah, I was wrong about SoIaF hardcore community, but it gives me more hope:

I'm sorry, OP, but you have no idea what you're talking about. As a one-time member of the hardcore GOT fandom and a reader of the GOT novels, I can tell you for a fact that Game of Thrones receives just as much **** from the "super fans" for it's casting choices, narrative choices, racebending and many, many more things as the Witcher has so far.

The only GoT season that was well received by book readers was the first, which was a very very close adaption of the first book A Game of Thrones. Everything afterwards was hated with a fire. Including the two lovely showrunners David and Dan. And, yes, Game of Thrones altered the races of characters as well. Surprise!

Gray Worm, Missandei, Xaro Zohan Daxos, that pirate captain who's friends with Davos... The list goes on. Yes, none of them are major characters- but the same can be said, more or less, about The Witcher. And, yes, that community complained about racebending as well. And yes, the show turned out totally fine afterwards DESPITE those fans who can never be satisfied. It can even be said that the casting choices were excellent.

 

[TheVileOne]

Oh man, I've seen some crazy videos going on about how Game of Thrones ruined the books and how Benioff and Weiss are "sociopathic" liars. These go on for like two hours. The book readers community for Game of Thrones takes their material very seriously.

 

[Loden Greatstorm]

When do you all think we will get a trailer? May? June?

 

[OutOfBoose]

Oh man, I've seen some crazy videos going on about how Game of Thrones ruined the books and how Benioff and Weiss are "sociopathic" liars. These go on for like two hours. The book readers community for Game of Thrones takes their material very seriously.

Not that it wasn't obvious from the start, but the show will live or die based on GA reaction. Fans coming from a different media are almost impossible to please. Unless they "let go" and welcome a different interpretation.

 

[Iceman]

Not that it wasn't obvious from the start, but the show will live or die based on GA reaction. Fans coming from a different media are almost impossible to please. Unless they "let go" and welcome a different interpretation.

To please fans from a different media you have to not only create something great, but to make it as similar as possible to the media concerned. So it's doubly difficult compared to pleasing people who are new to the material and have no underlying notion of what anything is "supposed to be like".

 

[TheVileOne]

Most of The Witcher fans will be coming in from the games and not the books.

And what's sort of ironic is even the games made a lot of changes and retcons from what was established in the books.

 

[TheVileOne]

When do you all think we will get a trailer? May? June?

I'm hoping for Comic-Con, so July.

 

[Loden Greatstorm]

I'm hoping for Comic-Con, so July.

Sounds accurate.

 

[I Am The Knight]

Most of The Witcher fans will be coming in from the games and not the books.

And what's sort of ironic is even the games made a lot of changes and retcons from what was established in the books.

So they should have tried to adapt the games instead?

 

[flickchick85]

I don't get it. If they announced a series of Game of Thrones films in 10 years or so, I'd see no problem with them making the films hew closer to the books than the show, despite the show being the most popular version. The games aren't going anywhere, this is just another adaptation. When making a new adaptation, you usually aren't expected to treat the most popular adaptation as your source material. You treat the source material as your source material.

 

[Iceman]

I don't get it. If they announced a series of Game of Thrones films in 10 years or so, I'd see no problem with them making the films hew closer to the books than the show, despite the show being the most popular version. The games aren't going anywhere, this is just another adaptation. When making a new adaptation, you usually aren't expected to treat the most popular adaptation as your source material. You treat the source material as your source material.

I think the issue here is that for many of the game fans, they are treating the game itself as the source material when looking at the show.

 

[flickchick85]

I think the issue here is that for many of the game fans, they are treating the game itself as the source material when looking at the show.

And that's what I don't get. It's a simple fact: it's not. If the books were good enough to be adapted into games, I'm sure they're good enough to be adapted to other mediums.

 

[Fincher]

People don't care about what's source material vs. what's an adaptation. They care about the aspects of the version(s) they know that they're invested in.

 

[flickchick85]

And it doesn't matter what they care about. It's an adaptation. Things are always going to change. They'll get over it, or don't watch. What matters is whether people get invested in THIS version of the story. That's the nature of adaptations - regardless of name brand, everything ultimately has to succeed on its own merits. They can complain "it's not like the games so it's wrong!" All they want, but their argument won't have a leg to stand on, because their fave is ultimately just another adaptation.

 

[Fincher]

I don't think fans are in a position to dictate to the show's makers what they do, but they're free to not like it, and since so many adaptations/sequels/reboots/etc. are made because they come with built-in viewers and studios want to make money, changes are made at the risk of their bottom line. And this is true whether they're going back to the source material or not. They could make Geralt a blue-skinned space pirate who rides a cyborg unicorn, and that's their prerogative, and fans can take it or leave it, but they shouldn't be surprised when fans choose to leave it.

 

[flickchick85]

And that's fine, but if fans "leave it" because it's closer to the source material that their fave is based on, then there was no hope for them anyway, imo. That just comes across as entitled fanboyism at its worst to me.

 

[TheVileOne]

So they should have tried to adapt the games instead?

I think they should've maybe considered negotiating with CDPR to get rights to adapt those stories at some point.

But I think already you are seeing a lot of fans angry because they are hewing closer to the books than the games, like with Geralt's bear.