OTT & Transmedia : The Witcher and Transmedia within Netflix by Frank Konrath

Frank Konrath

The Witcher and Transmedia within Netflix

I saw there was a trailer for a Witcher anime feature film coming to Netflix and I got scared. I started to think about how they might have messed the world up from it's infancy, telling the story of Geralt of Rivia in a different format, which would not be a transmedia StoryWorld and destroy the world they are building in the live action series.

But alas, they did it right! It's the origin story of Vesemir! This is great for the Witcher story world fans and for future transmedia projects within Netflix.

Things are opening up for us, people! Keep working!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J365hQpaWRw

HB Duran

I love that Netflix is doing more anime, especially with my first love, video games. :-) Although technically I think The Witcher was a book series first? The ultimate example of transmedia done right.

Karen "Kay" Ross

Yep, originally books first, HB Duran, from Poland. It feels like they took a page out of Animatrix - take the bible and find ways to write adjacent stories in a different medium, giving other directors a chance to put their spin on the world and characters. Such a good idea!

Frank Konrath

HB Duran and a video game! But for this instance, what's cannon in the Netflix storyworld for the Witcher is the series and now this feature. Kinda like how Toby McGuire was Spiderman but isn't apart of the current MCU.

Christian Nommay

The Witcher is not exactly transmedia, but there are some elements. For instance, Netflix's show is an adaptation of the books, and even if they did an event with CD Projekt Red, the game and the series are not part of the same cannon. Now, the video game is something else as it is more or less a continuation of the books, and there is even a tabletop RPG made by R. Talsorian Games. That said, I loved the 1st season, and I'm definitely hyped for this anime that takes place during a time were Witchers were more common (in the show and the books they are almost extinct).

Frank Konrath

Ya, there are definitely different story worlds, it'll be interesting to see if Netflix continues to expand their Witcher world. It's a common problem when restarting a world, it'll be interesting to see how or if Netflix navigates the two worlds.

HB Duran

Interesting Christian Nommay I didn't know that!

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