Yes, they’re still trying…
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Why is Netflix’ The Witcher still even in production? As Redanian Intelligence reported recently, Netflix’ dumpster fire of a franchise loosely analogous to The Witcher has in fact recasted the uninspiring Kim Bodnia with some other schmuck to portray Geralt of Rivia’s Witcher mentor, Vesemir. This would be of interest if Netflix’ The Witcher hadn’t already lost its marquee star or suffered ferocious and justified fan backlash for years due to its travestying of both the letter and spirit of Andrzej Sapkowski’s anthologies and novels. Coming swiftly on the heels of Liam Hemsworth’s admission that he had not in fact read the source material nor even watched the previous seasons of the show he’s set to star in before signing on, this is yet another reminder that no one needs The Witcher to continue, and few want it to. Why would they? Besides its consistently abysmal audiences scores at Rotten Tomatoes, The Witcher was a perfectly aesthetically and commercially successful franchise in video games#ad and prose#ad before the Suits of Sarandos sank their filthy claws into it. And it makes for great pop toys!#ad
While the show deserves genuine credit for being one of, maybe the, first big-budget fantasy franchises to eschew the homogeneous whiteness of Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones, and has stood firm in that decision despite repeated waves of racist backlash, its championing of diversity has been undercut by often extraordinarily unsubtle progressivism (“The lowborn will rise!”) and a basic mediocrity that has provided fodder for anti-D.E.I. angst for half a decade. As I have said multiple times, “Diversity didn’t ruin fantasy. Bad writing did.” But the corollary to that statement is that representation in art should not be a virtue by now, but simply the norm. And in the past half decade, dozens of shows, included Emmy titans like The Last of Us and Shogun have done it so much better.
So with respect to my colleagues, whatever. Even Laurence Fishburne and that stupendous hairdo he’s sporting in this Redanian article are destined to wind up melted against a column if he tries to save The Witcher. No one can.
Want more Witcher products to alleviate the sorrow of that wretched tv show? These are some of my favorites!
Pop Toys and Action Figures#ad
Books#ad
Benjamin Rose is the Editor and founder of The Path.
Images credited to Netflix
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