Once upon a streaming deal, Netflix found itself dancing with swords and slaying monsters inside a world built by Andrzej Sapkowski, who pens grim tales with sharper barbs than any Witcher’s blade. The platform conjured a universe of blood, beasts, and brooding stares, but when authors speak, the monsters sometimes bite back. And recently, Sapkowski chose to remind everyone of one thing: whose version truly casts the deepest spell.

While Netflix animated swords and sorcery in widescreen glory, Andrzej Sapkowski unsheathed words that sliced deeper than any special effect and left no room for sequel-level debate.

During the Opole Book Festival, Andrzej Sapkowski was asked about Netflix’s anime The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf and its dramatized Kaer Morhen massacre. He claimed he had not watched it but delivered a verbal dagger anyway. “Are we really going to argue over which version is better? Good, we’re not. I’m glad. Because, for example, I know [which version is better].” With one cold-blooded sentence, he made his stance thunder louder than any on-screen monster.

The glint of sarcasm was not just for effect. Andrzej Sapkowski has already rewritten the Kaer Morhen pogrom his way, in 2023’s Crossroads of Ravens. His version trades spectacle for nuance, with none of the slow-mo bloodbaths but all the emotional weight. Netflix may have shown the massacre in animated glory, but Sapkowski’s page bleeds authenticity. The power struggle between page and pixel has never felt more personal or pointed.

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While Netflix animated the past with flair, Andrzej Sapkowski turned his focus forward, penning futures, throwing subtle jabs, and side-eyeing authors who let adaptations outpace their endings.

At the Opole Book Festival, Andrzej Sapkowski did not just throw shade; he lit a torch for authors everywhere. Taking a dig at George R.R. Martin, he reflected on the chaos of being overtaken by adaptations. If studios leap ahead before an author finishes the story, what incentive remains to write the ending? Still, he drew a clear line in the sand: “When I say I’ll write something, I will.” With Crossroads of Ravens arriving this fall, the pen is far from dropped.

That same mix of sarcasm and self-awareness resurfaced when Andrzej Sapkowski mocked his credit in Netflix’s The Witcher. Ever the craftsman of casual burns, he joked that if he praised the show, he would be called biased; if he criticized it, a fool. “So I won’t say anything,” he said, though clearly not silent enough. Even his disclaimers come laced with daggers. In true Witcher fashion, the quietest moments cut the deepest.

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What are your thoughts on Andrzej Sapkowski’s sly takedown of Netflix and his loyalty to canon? Let us know in the comments below.