The Sean Daniel Company has partnered with Platige Films to develop a feature film based on Andrzej Sapkowski’s “The Witcher” series, a European property that has drawn comparisons to HBO’s “Game of Thrones,” it was announced Thursday.
The surprise announcement threw gamers for a loop, as the project was met with enough excitement to merit trending on both Facebook and Twitter.
Oscar-nominated filmmaker Tomasz Bagiński (“The Cathedral”) will direct the film, which will follow the adventures of Geralt the Witcher — the hero of Sapkowski’s novels. Geralt is a monster hunter with superhuman abilities who is suspended between the human world and the magical realm.
The film will be an introduction to the Witcher’s world and is planned as the beginning of a series. It will be based on themes from the short stories “The Witcher” and “Lesser Evil” from “The Last Wish” collection, which made the New York Times bestseller list.
Veteran TV writer Thania St. John (“Grimm,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”) will write the script, and the property will also be developed with a television component in mind.
Jarosław Sawko and Piotr Sikora will produce for Platige Films, while Sean Daniel and Jason Brown will produce for SDC, which is best known for the “Mummy” franchise and Timur Bekmambetov‘s upcoming remake of “Ben-Hur.”
The “Witcher” movie is intended for international distribution and is expected to be ready for release by 2017.
Baginski (pictured above) is represented by UTA and manager D.J. Talbot, while St. John is repped by CAA and Circle of Confusion.