(Netflix apparently has some “amazing snacks” at its Hollywood offices.)
“It’s full-on, in the best kind of way,” Hissrich says.
So, whydoesit work?
Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia in ‘The Witcher’ season 2.Netflix
Hissrich didn’t have experience with big fantasy properties when she first pitchedThe Witcher.
“I was a fan [of the genre].
“That being said, I feel like I know how to tell a story.”
The Theo James-voiced Vesemir in ‘The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf’.Netflix
“I have a bit of Ciri in me.
“But unfortunately, I’m not allowed to do that.”
You know, for insurance reasons.
The latter came with its own questions.
“If we do a kids and family show, is it going to beThe Witcherat all?
How do we doTheWitcherwithout all of the gore, all of the violence?”
“The truth is though, those things to me are the bells and whistles of this world.
If you peel away those layers, you come back to basic tales of morality.
That’s what all of Sapkowski’s short stories are.
That’s already four pieces of entertainment spun off from the main series announced in two years.
Luegenbiehl points to Sapkowski’s novels for answers.
“It’s two things.
First, it really starts with the audience.
Are they excited to dive deeper into this world and pull back those layers?”
“The second part is, do we feel like there’s enough there to do that?
It’s not just doing story to do story but that there’s really enough soul behind it.
Sapkowski created this very rich world, but in some ways only hinted at the potential of it.”
There seems to be a third component at play: fandom crossovers.
The writers room assembled to develop the story forThe Witcherseason 2 and they hit a plot hole.
“It’s very vague in the books as to what happened.
That kind of stuck.”
Blood Origincame together through “one of those rare sort of David Lynch in the cafe moments.”
That’s what we’re going to explore here.”
That’s how Luegenbiehl feels about the Witcher franchise overall.
A version of this story appears inEntertainment Weekly’s December issue, on newsstands Friday andavailable to order here.
