Damn, this was well stated.
Man, wouldn’t that be really interesting? I have my doubts though. Separate from shoehorning diversity, I feel like Hollywood-ization tends to dilute the unique cultural identity of original works.
I wasn’t really thinking much about it until you phrased it that way. Now I’m already disappointed to miss out on something I know we’ll never receive. Hah!
Maybe I shouldn’t be so pessimistic.
This reminds me, when I was a kid I used to hear all these pollack jokes and I was always wondering, but afraid to ask, what in the world is a pollack? It was many years before I actually found out. And I never understood why Polish people were the butt of so many jokes, like up there with Aggies and Cajuns where I grew up.
I with great shame remember our cruel teenaged glee when we realized that my Polish-Italian buddy’s two derogatory slurs could be combined into one, thus christening him the Woppollack for a good chunk of high school :-/
For all the ways the country is going right-wing crazy these days, that is a people who have been shit on a very great deal by history :(
I mean I don’t want to oversell things, but I think one of the critical factors in Game of Thrones success has been the fact there are numerous powerful, independent, and interesting female characters. Not just powerful but secondary to the male lead, but straight up parity in terms of shaping the story, of development, and focus. Also the world of Westeros and Essos is much more ethnically diverse (and interesting) by doing more than the ‘fantasy England’ thing it superficially is. Danerys basically spends several seasons wandering around ‘fantasy Barbary Tunisia’, with all the diversity that implies.
Or Black Panther. It made $hojillion and was critically praised. And, to be clear, it earns every dollar for being good. But it’s hard to deny that it broke out the way it did because after nearly 20 something marvel movies, we finally* have one with a black lead and hero. One that interacts with and comments on that dichotomy.
And, yeah, this is a Slavic fantasy, which we don’t see as much of as, say, Germanic, Norse, or Anglo Saxon. So I really hope they keep what makes it unique. I, for one, welcome seeing new creative expressions! But a world is a big place, so it’s always worth it to show a bit of that. Especially in fantasy where our notions of history, culture, and race do not apply 1:1. So I hope that all decisions in casting are done with the thought and care that we seem to have seen so far.
*dont @ me about WarMachine or the Falcon. They are about as important in story and screentime as Happy has been. Firmly second tier in Marvel land.
Now this I agree with. The complaints about diversity are far more superficial and silly, to me, than the far more real concern of the demystifying of this distinct universe in order to make it more palatable and understandable for audiences not steeped in the genre.
It’s like boiling chicken breasts. You can cook them that way and they are technically edible, but it is bland and unsatisfying in so many ways compared to what a good cook can do with a little olive oil, salt, and seasonings.
Good post, I dont disagree with anything in it. I will still think that miscasting already established characters from the books and games is shitty though. Just like I would find it shitty if we were talking about Japanese or Lebanese or Native American fantasy saga that would feature established characters of their respective ethnicities and Netflix or HBO would decide, in their quest for diversity and representation, cast these existing characters to be played by caucasian or black actors in their adaptation.
Obviously casting is just one aspect of it all, there are lot of possible pitfalls, but for now I have faith in Lauren Hissrich and Tom Baginski.
Hank Cavill definitely going to have time on his hands now.
Have they said anything about where this will be filmed?
Central Europe I believe has been confirmed for location shoots.
I get the nerdish true-to-source stuff. It just seems myopic or hypocritical that people who ignore whitewashing in Hollywood are perfectly fine with crying out ‘diversity casting’ as a sort of reverse-whitewashing.
So far Hungary, Slovakia and South Africa were revealed afaik.
Personally I dislike anywashing.
Yeah not pointing out you specifically. Just the feeling I get from a lot of people complaining. It is hard not to be sarcastic in replying. It doesn’t seem worth it most of the time thought.
I obviously can’t speak to Cavil’s motivations but it seems like a clear cut choice to me. Superman is a mega-property that has been rendered dour and unlikable along with the rest of the DC shitverse. OTOH, you’ve got a property that appears to have assembled a high quality writing staff (well, I can’t speak to everyone there) who loves the source material. You have backing from a company in Netflix that seems more than happy to let the content creators create, and wants to pour a lot of resources into the series. The series has the potential to be big. And you probably still get to make really good money.
Not to mention that for many actors who aren’t A list, getting a TV series lead is a huge win. Having a steady good paying gig for potentially the next decade? It beats the hell out of slumming for secondary roles, I’d bet.
I mean look at the list of big names attached to shows for Netflix, or HBO. These are major movie stars in some cases, people whose name you recognize. The Rock has an HBO show for gods sakes.
Like he got Mission impossible this year. He had Superman* before. But next year he may struggle to have a role with more than two minutes of screen time. It’s Hollywood man, nothing is guaranteed.
*yes as the lead of a major property, but one you aptly note has been trashed
I mean these days TV series are the “prestige” stuff more than movies tbh. Plenty A-listers are doing them. Longer form storytelling is generally more interesting and engaging anyway.
Aaaand the most predictable of things happened.
Substitute Netflix for Steam and I figure this is pretty much how any kind of Witcher boycott will go. I don’t think the fate of the series will hinge on the Ciri casting. Much more dependent on how good the writing is combined with the quality of special effects.
I’ve tried getting into the Witcher games several times apiece, but I just can’t slog my way through the first hour.
I’m nowhere near as enamored with this world as the rest of you. Half the names sound silly as hell. Milfgurdians? Are they busty moms with armor?
What has always seemed to me to annoy fans of books/games when translated to the screen is if the story diverges from the original. Yeah, they grouse about casting, about effects, etc. but people seem to really get ticked off if it isn’t a dramatization of the same story.