The Witcher author Andrzej Sapkowski says Netflix "never listened" to his feedback

Andrzej Sapkowski may have penned The Witcher novels, which in turn inspired both CD Projekt Red's video game series and Netflix's TV adaptation, but that doesn't mean that the streaming service ever listened to his feedback.

While attending Vienna Comic Con, Sapkowski was asked about the various adaptations that have stemmed from his original works. Speaking with Cerealkillers, the author said that every visual adaptation of his The Witcher series was "strange" for him to see, because as a writer he only uses his words.

"My raw material when I work, it's only letters. I do not describe pictures. I don't see any pictures. I use the letters only because I know that my reader will see in the book the letters only, not the pictures. So I have to do with my letters to make the reader imagine the picture, not the other way around... so every [visual] adaptation, it's simply strange for me," he explained.

The author said he will look at someone else's interpretation of The Witcher, and remark "oh, this is the way they picture it. Interesting." He added sometimes this is a welcome surprise, with a "sympathetic" impression of his work. However, sometimes, "it isn't", he said, although the author did not elaborate on this point further.

Later in the interview, conversation turned specifically to the Netflix series, and Sapkowski's visit to the set. While he complimented the set specifically, calling it "tremendous", he also stated Netflix never took any of his feedback on board.

"Maybe, I gave them some ideas, but they never listened to me," he said, before laughing and turning away from the camera.

The author didn't seem, at least on the surface, too bothered by this reception from the streamer, saying it was "normal". He then did a rather deft and comically deadpan impression of a Netflix executive and said in a dismissive way, "Who's this? It's a writer, it's nobody."

Sapkowski's choice of words here are particularly interesting, however, when you consider Henry Cavill's recent departure from the Netflix series.

While the actor, who portrayed Geralt of Rivia for the show's first three seasons, has not publicly stated the reason he decided to leave the show, many have surmised that he was unhappy with the direction Netflix was going, with the production team drifting too far from the literary source material. In the past, the actor had openly expressed his desire to make his version of Geralt as true to the books as possible. His co-star Freya Allan, who plays Ciri, has even referred to him as a "Witcher bible".

In an interview with Fortress of Solitude ahead of the show's second season, Allan explained: "We'll be doing a scene and [Cavill will] be like 'I think we should use this line from page 253 of Blood of Elves,' and I'm like how does this dude know all this stuff?"

Netflix's fourth season of The Witcher will see Liam Hemsworth of The Hunger Games fame taking over the role of Geralt. As for Cavill, following his time with Netflix, he is off to Amazon, where the actor has signed a deal to bring Warhammer 40,000 to our television screens.

Meanwhile, for fans of the Witcher book series, Sapkowski has said he is working on the next instalment right now, and we can hope to see it on the market next winter.

If it is more from Sapkowski you want, our Bertie actually spoke to him a few years ago. You can read Bertie's chat with the author here.