Anyone who’s played The Witcher games knows that there’s a certain level of fantasy that goes along with the action. With the impending Netflix series, however, there’s a different approach taking place.
Visual effects supervisor Julian Parry recently spoke with SFX Magazine about the series. In it, he explained that the show will “lean more towards horror,” while still suiting fans of the original books.
How will the tone differ with the Netflix Witcher series?
“We’re definitely taking the fantasy out,” Parry said while emphasizing on horror. He noted that the Witcher show certainly does seem “fantastical,” but “in a grounded horror sense.”
He then brought up an example with a woman cursed to live as a monster, named Striga. “That’s one gnarly-looking thing,” he explained. “That’s very unpleasant!”
That said, the show’s page does list it as “action & adventure.” But that doesn’t mean it can’t have some horror or fantasy elements as well.
Parry also dug a little deeper when it came to certain characters, like the Nilfgaard armies. He noted that they “can’t exist because there are 10,000 plus of them.” He also noted that the Temerians and the Cintrans are kind of in the same board, as they “can’t exist here on set.”
That said, the recent trailer for the Witcher Netflix series, posted below, does have sort of a fantasy sense to it. It features swordplay and a few scary sites, but the aura that worked with the games seems to be present here. How that’ll play out when the series premieres should be interesting, to say the least.
And keep in mind that The Witcher isn’t based on the games. Instead, it focuses on the original novels, though Henry Cavill looks undeniably familiar as Geralt of Rivia. Some viewers’ holidays should benefit greatly from his presence alone.
The Witcher is set to premiere on Netflix starting on December 20. Along with the trailer below, you can learn more about the series on its official web page.
