Many witch moviesburned at the stake— critically speaking. We’re not talking about theHarry Pottertypes, but more along the lines ofNicolas Cage’sSeason of the Witch,Jeremy Renner’sHansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters,Jeff Bridges’Seventh Son, and (most recently)Vin Diesel’sThe Last Witch Hunter. PerhapsThe Witcherwill be able to turn the beat around.
The Sean Daniel Company and Platige Filmsannouncedtoday that they’re teaming up to bring the novels by Polish authorAndrzej Sapkowskito life as a feature film. SDC had a hand in theMummyfranchise, the TV seriesThe Expanse, and the remake ofBen-Hur, while Platige is developingan animated moviebased on theRyszard KapuścińskibookAnother Day of Life.
Sapkowski’s stories have already been transformed into a popular video game franchise centering on Geralt, a nomadic monster hunter called a “Witcher” who is gifted with unnatural abilities. The character will also feature in the film, which is said to be pull themes from “The Witcher" and “Lesser Evil,” two short stories in Sapkowski’sThe Last Wishcollection.
Based on the press release, the plan is for the film to be an introduction to “the Witcher’s world” as the first of a series. There also seems to be plans for a TV adaptation, as the announcement further states that screenwriterThania St. John(Chicago Fire) “is working on the script as well as on its film and television continuation.”
Tomasz Bagiński, whose animated short filmKatedrawas nominated for an Oscar, is set as the director.Jarosław Sawko,Piotr Sikora,Sean Daniel, andJason Brownwill produce. No specific release date has been set, but Platige announcedThe Witcherwill debut in 2017.
It was only a matter of time before the world of Geralt made it to the silver screen. Aside from the popularity of Sapkowski’s works, the game series has been praised for its cinematic qualities. Watch the opening cinematic forThe Witcher 3below.
