Polish animation and film studio Platige Image has announced it is partnering with Netflix to develop and produce an English-language drama series based on The Witcher, the popular fantasy books series from author Andrzej Sapkowski and the source material of the acclaimed video games. Jason Brown and Sean Daniel (The Expanse) will serve as executive producers, and Sapkowski will act as a creative consultant, making him far more involved with the show than he ever was with the games. Tomasz Bagiński, who worked on cinematic scenes from The Witcher games and was set to direct the previously announced Witcher movie that has seemingly evolved into this Netflix show, will also produce and has signed on to direct “at least one episode of each season,” according to a press release.
The Witcher Saga’s eight novels and short-story collections tell the tale of Geralt Of Rivia, one of the ostracized but highly skilled professional monster-hunters known as witchers, and the mysterious, magical princess Ciri, who is being hunted after fleeing her besieged home and finds herself in Geralt’s care. “There is a moral and intellectual depth in these books which goes beyond genre,” Platige wrote in its announcement. “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.” It’s also exactly the kind of expansive, grungy low-fantasy universe an entertainment company would turn to if, for example, it’s looking for that ever-elusive “next Game Of Thrones.”