The Witcher Showrunner Says Pilot Script is Finished

Showrunner and writer Lauren Schmidt Hissrich shared some exciting news about the pilot script for The Witcher TV series on Twitter. The upcoming Netflix fantasy drama is based on the book series of the same name by Andrzej Sapkowski and could possibly serve as the streaming giant’s answer to Game of Thrones.

The series follows the story of Geralt of Riva, a mutated, monster-hunting witcher who becomes a father figure and caregiver to Ciri – a child of destiny whose fate is entwined with Geralt’s. There’s also a host of major and minor side characters, including Geralt’s two love interests Yennefer and Triss – both powerful sorceresses. The books were previously adapted into a popular video game franchise including The Witcher, The Witcher 2: Assassin of Kings and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – that last gentry was released in 2015 and is generally considered one of the best games of all time.

A new tweet by Lauren Schmidt Hissrich reveals that its been a big week for Witcher fans, because the script for the pilot episode has just finished being written. So far, information about the TV series remains scarce. It will be based on the books, but Geralt’s character will be inspired by the video games. There’s also still no word on casting or exactly when the series will be arriving on Netflix. Included below is Hissrich’s tweet, featuring an image of Geralt riding his faithful horse Roach:

It’s been a big week, #TheWitcher fans... pic.twitter.com/TvcL3PqZal

— Lauren S. Hissrich (@LHissrich) January 20, 2018

Fans have reason to be excited about the pace of developments at this point. It wasn’t all that long ago that Netflix’s development of a Witcher TV series was announced, so the fact that the first draft of the pilot script is already done means it shouldn’t be too much longer before fans get some more concrete information about the series. While – as Hissrich acknowledges in the replies to her tweet – rewrites will inevitably be made before actual production on the pilot begins, this is an important milestone to reach along the way.

Considering Game of Thrones is ending in 2019, it looks like Netflix and Amazon are going to face off when it comes to who will air the next big fantasy series. Amazon is planning a Lord of the Rings prequel series, which has a lot of creative potential and a massive budget, but Netflix may have an edge with The Witcher due to its universe being new territory for a screen adaptation. Amazon’s series will likely be compared nonstop to Peter Jackon’s Lord of the Rings films, while The Witcher can carve out its own path.