Big news for The Witcher fans! No, unfortunately, this is not a CD Projekt Red update. This is for fans of the Netflix TV show.
The Witcher: Blood Origin is a prequel that creator Declan de Barra described as a “tale about the elves when they were at their height, like all great societies before their fall.” This series will serve as a backstory for The Witcher, featuring Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia. There will be critical items and plot points that will show up in future Witcher episodes and will provide much-needed background on what led to the creation of witchers in the first place.
This limited series is set 1200 years before Geralt of Rivia was born during the Golden Age of Elves. According to de Barra, Blood Origin will have a more linear timeline than The Witcher’s nonlinear format.
Don’t fret, de Barra promises political drama and familiar cities in their previously Elven state. Viewers will be experiencing a world without humans before the Conjunction of the Spheres. We’ll see a Witcher universe that hasn’t been explored in the games or the TV show. Blood Origin relies heavily on Sapkowski’s books, so if you haven’t picked up the series, you should start now. For the optimal reading order, read “the Best Order to Read The Witcher.” Order your books from your local library or indie bookstore ahead of the TV series because the shelves will be empty as viewers look for more answers.
The Witcher: Blood Origin characters (and cast) to get acquainted with before the show begins
Michelle Yeoh’s Scian
Fresh off of the mainstream success of Everything Everywhere All at Once, everyone should be excited to see Michelle Yeoh’s portrayal of this elven character. Scian refused to fight for the King of Xintrea, which led to a series of elven clan wars. Yeoh plays a warrior, which is not the first time she’s wielded a sword for a role.
Minnie Driver’s Seanchaí
Seanchaí travels from world to world, collecting stories.
Mirren Mack’s Merwyn
Merwyn is a princess, which will, without a doubt, cause conversations about the role of women in feudalistic societies. Hopefully, this won’t be reduced to a surface-level conversation like HBO’s House of the Dragon. If Ciri’s character in the first season of The Witcher is any indication, Merwyn will have an exciting arc ahead of her.
Lenny Henry’s Chief Sage Balor
The character Chief Sage Balor grew up poor but used his magic and wits to become the king’s trusted advisor. Hopefully, his character will flesh out the new classism and social structures in the Witcher universe without being tokenized.
Lizzie Annis’s Zacaré and Zach Wyatt’s Syndril
One-half of the “celestial twins” is Zacaré (portrayed by Lizzie Annis) and Syndril (portrayed by Zach Wyatt). Born under a comet, Zacaré has magical powers that viewers have not previously seen.
The Witcher: Blood Origin teaser
When The Witcher season 2 wrapped up on Netflix, the series continued the growing trend of post-credits scenes, debuting a first teaser for The Witcher: Blood origin after the credits rolled. Being a teaser, it doesn’t show off much but the look of the show and some of the characters mentioned above in action, but it was enough to get fans excited for the world of The Witcher to continue to expand on Netflix.
Related: The Witcher: Blood Origin Is a Bloody Mess on The Escapist
The Witcher: Blood Origin trailer (released 11/10/22)
As more trailers come out, the prequel series looks more and more promising.
When will The Witcher: Blood Origin release on Netflix?
A major change was announced for the series at Netflix’s Tudum: A Global Fan Event. The previously announced six-episode run has been shortened to four for a tighter storytelling experience. However, it will be sad to miss out on the extra screen time of Michelle Yeoh.
Be ready to binge the series on December 25, 2022, while we wait for Geralt’s return in the summer of 2023.
(featured image: Netflix)
