Alongside the two (so far) seasons of the main Witcher show and animated spin-off Nightmare of the Wolf, Netflix is working on an additional spin-off that will explore the history of the world that Geralt of Rivia calls home.
This new live-action series follows the origin story of the very first Witcher at the time of the Conjunction of the Spheres. Here’s all we know about The Witcher: Blood Origins.
When is the release date for The Witcher: Blood Origins?
Although Netflix announced Blood Origins back in the summer of 2020, it won’t hit our screens until some time in 2022 – though we don’t know exactly when.
THE WITCHER: BLOOD ORIGIN is coming to Netflix in 2022 pic.twitter.com/Bzva1q5jEu
— Netflix Geeked (@NetflixGeeked) December 17, 2021
The long wait could have something to do with the troubled production of season two of The Witcher, which was interrupted by the pandemic and then injuries to its star Henry Cavill.
Is there a trailer for The Witcher: Blood Origins?
Yes, but we can’t embed it here. Netflix released a trailer for Blood Origins as the post-credit sequence on the final episode of The Witcher’s second season, and at the time of writing that’s the only place you can officially watch it.
If you want to watch something right now, there is a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the show hosted by showrunner Declan de Barra.
What is the story of The Witcher: Blood Origins?
As we said at the start, this new show follows the genesis of the Witchers, with the story centring on the first one to carry silver and steel swords. The official blurb from Netflix reads as follows:
“Set in an elven world 1200 years before the world of The Witcher, Blood Origin will tell a story lost to time – the origin of the very first Witcher, and the events that lead to the pivotal ‘conjunction of the spheres,’ when the worlds of monsters, men, and elves merged to become one.”
Curiously we don’t see much of that in the first trailer, which instead focuses on a small group of elven adventurers banding together as they travel and fend off threats – though no doubt this will build into the pivotal events hinted at by the blurb.
Netflix has also teased more of the world and its lore with a few images shared on Twitter, so see if you can glean any more clues as to what to expect:
take a closer look at The Witcher prequel series🩸 THE WITCHER: BLOOD ORIGIN🩸 pic.twitter.com/kVpDCQT1wa
— Netflix Geeked (@NetflixGeeked) December 17, 2021
That’s all that’s known so far, but the action will span six episodes, making it two shorter than the first season of The Witcher.
Who are the cast and crew of The Witcher: Blood Origins?
With the delays to the shooting of The Witcher season 2, there has been an unfortunate knock-on effect with a major cast member in Blood Origins.
Jodie Turner-Smith, who starred in Queen & Slim, Jett, and Nightflyers, was due to play Éile, a seasoned and deadly warrior, but clashes in her schedule due to the delayed start to Blood Origins meant she has had to leave the project to honour agreements on other productions.
Replacing her will be Sophia Brown who is best known for The Capture. Deadline reports that Éile is a warrior who leaves the position of Queen’s guardian to realise her ambition of becoming a travelling musician. But it’s not long before she has to take up her sword once more, with world events taking a turn for the worst.
We dare say Éile will be a more formidable opponent than the musician Jaskier who accompanied Geralt on his adventures through The Witcher series. Although, she’ll be hard pressed to come up with a song as good as ‘Toss a Coin to your Witcher’.
We do know that Laurance O’Fuarain (Game of Thrones, Vikings) will play Fjall. Deadline also does a great job of outlined the character’s story as being part of a tribe of warriors whose role is to protect their king. In a previous battle he lost someone he loved who died trying to save him, and it leaves him a haunted man seeking redemption.
Star Trek: Discovery actress Michelle Yeoh is also in the cast as Scían. She is the last of her nomadic tribe of sword-elves, and is a master of the blade. She is on a quest to retrieve a stolen sacred sword, and we bet that her travels will bring head-to-head with some other figures in the show.
IMDB lists Jon Prophet as the mysteriously named The Severed, but so far there are no details on what his story will entail.
Here are a few more of the confirmed cast members and the characters they will be playing:
- Mirren Mack as Merwyn
- Lenny Henry as Balor
- Jacob Collins-Levy as Eredin
- Lizzie Annis as Zacaré
- Huw Novelli as Callan “Brother Death”
- Francesca Mills as Meldof
- Amy Murray as Fenrik
- Nathaniel Curtis as Brían
- Zach Wyatt as Syndril
- Dylan Moran as Uthrok One-Nut
The series is being helmed by Declan De Barra and Lauren Schmidt, who were responsible for the main Witcher series, so it should bring some consistency across the franchise. Andrzej Sapkowski, who created the Witcher universe in his series of novels, is also onboard as a creative consultant.
Where can I watch The Witcher: Blood Origins?
As this is a Netflix Original show, you’ll need a Netflix subscription to access it when the series finally arrives. Till then, you can get up to speed by enjoying The Witcher and the anime movie The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf on the streaming service. You can of course also enjoy the excellent Witcher novels and play the equally fantastic Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt game on PC or console.
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Author: Martyn Casserly, Contributor
Martyn has been involved with tech ever since the arrival of his ZX Spectrum back in the early 80s. He covers iOS, Android, Windows and macOS, writing tutorials, buying guides and reviews for Macworld and its sister site Tech Advisor.