Netflix is expanding their universe of The Witcher with a newly announced live-action prequel series titled The Witcher: Blood Origin.
The series will be helmed by Declan de Barra and The Witcher showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich.
Netflix details that the series will be “a 6 part live-action The Witcher spin-off series.”
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It will take place “1200 years before Geralt of Rivia.”
They also explain that the story will reveal how the first Witcher came to be and will show a merged world of monsters, men and elves.
The Witcher author Andrzej Sapkowski will be consulting on the project.
He commented, “It is exciting that the world of Witcher — as planned in the very beginning — is expanding. I hope it will bring more fans to the world of my books.”
Declan de Barra, who will sever as showrunner also added, “As a lifelong fan of fantasy, I am beyond excited to tell the story ‘The Witcher: Blood Origin.’”
He then teased what fans might expect from the series, “A question has been burning in my mind ever since I first read ‘The Witcher’ books: What was the Elven world really like before the cataclysmic arrival of the humans? I’ve always been fascinated by the rise and fall of civilizations, how science, discovery, and culture flourish right before that fall.”
Hisrrich added her own thoughts indicating that this new live-action series is an original story.
She stated, “I am so thrilled to collaborate with Declan and the Netflix team on The Witcher: Blood Origin. It’s an exciting challenge to explore and expand The Witcher universe created by Andrzej Sapkowski, and we can’t wait to introduce fans to new characters and an original story that will enrich our magical, mythical world even more.”
Redanian Intelligence reports the show “will be shot in the UK as is the main series.” They also predict the show won’t drop on Netflix until at least 2022.
They explain, “Well, assuming they use the same production hub as the main series, Arborfield Studios, they can only begin production there after Season 2 is wrapped in February. ”
“It isn’t even guaranteed they will even begin right after that. If they begin production mid-2021, with a standard approximate 6 months filming + 6 months post-production schedule, we should expect Blood Origin to drop on Netflix in 2022,” they conclude.
This news comes after Netflix announced an animated film set in The Witcher universe back in February.
That film titled, ‘The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf” is expected to focus on Geralt’s mentor Vesemir.
A description of the show explained it would focus on a young Vesemir.
The description read, “Long before mentoring Geralt, Vesemir begins his own journey as a witcher after the mysterious Deglan claims him through the Law of Surprise.”
The Witcher Season 2 production was put on hiatus due to global shutdowns as governments responded to Covid-19. However, while Season 2 might have been put on hold there is a rumor that Netflix already greenlit a third season.
Editor-in-Chief of Geeks World Wide KC Walsh reported on Twitter back in July 2019, “I’ve heard it got the Sabrina deal and is already re-upped for 3 seasons.”
Are you interested to see what Netflix has in store for this Witcher prequel series?