Season two of Netflix’s smash hit series The Witcher isn’t set to debut until later this year, but the streaming platform is diving even deeper into the fantastical world. A limited prequel series is on the horizon. The Witcher: Blood Origin’s announcement comes as the franchise dives deeper into witcher lore and the brotherhood. The upcoming spinoff is set more than a century before the flagship series, in the Elven world before human intrusion. Here’s everything we know about the series.
What’s It About?
Set 1200 years before Geralt of Rivia’s adventures throughout the continent, The Witcher: Blood Origin explores the long-forgotten tale of the first witchers. From the official Netflix logline:
“Set in an elven world 1,200 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.”
Blood Origin creator and writer Declan de Barra told Entertainment Weekly the story takes place in a pre-colonized world. It’s really about what that world would look like for elves before humans brought civilization to them. Executive producer Lauren Hissrich adds the world at that time was much more of a Golden Age than what we see in the The Witcher, set hundreds of years later.
Netflix
Who’s in the Cast?
Vikings actor Laurence O’Fuarain will lead the series. O’Fuarain, whose casting we learned about at Deadline, will play a warrior named Fjall. In a pair of tweets, The Witcher‘s official Twitter account described Fjall as a warrior carrying “a deep scar within.” Starring beside O’Fuarain will be the great Michelle Yeoh, whose casting was announced in July. Yeoh will play a character named Scían; details below:
“Scían is the very last of her nomadic tribe of sword-elves. No one can come close to her artistry with the blade, and no one carries as much loss within their heart. When a chance presents itself to retrieve a stolen sacred sword, taken from her fallen tribe by nefarious means, she launches herself into a deadly quest that will change the outcome of the Continent.”
On the heels of Yeoh’s casting, Variety reported that Sophia Brown would be joining the cast as Éile. (Queen & Slim star Jodie Turner-Smith was cast as Éile in January, but Deadline reported in April that she left the project due to scheduling issues.) Netflix describes Éile as “a fierce warrior with the voice of a goddess.”
ITV
Now that production is officially underway, The Witcher: Blood Origin has found the rest of its cast. Per Deadline, UK comedy legend Sir Lenny Henry, Mirren Mack, Nathaniel Curtis and Dylan Moran are among the 10 casting additions. Henry, who is also starring in the upcoming Lord Of the Rings Series, will play a character called Balor. Mack will be voicing Merwyn, Curtis will be voicing Brían, and Moran will be voicing Uthrok One-Nut. Also joining the cast are Jacob Collins Levy, Amy Murray, Lizzie Annis, Huw Novelli, Francesca Mills, and Zach Wyatt. They will be playing Eredin, Fenrik, Zacaré, Brother Death, Meldof, and Syndril, respectively.
Who Is the Creative Team?
Declan de Barra will serve as showrunner and executive producer for the six-episode limited series. The Witcher’s showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich is also executive producing. Andrzej Sapkowski, who wrote the The Witcher books, will consult on the series. The series will also boast two directors, Sarah O’Gorman and Vicky Jewson. Deadline reports that O’Gorman is helming the premiere, finale, and episode four. Jewson will tackle episodes two, three, and five.
Behind the Scenes
Netflix has not yet announced the The Witcher: Blood Origin‘s release date. But recently, they offered a tease of the world of the show.
Although this set tour doesn’t reveal too much, it does give fans a glimpse at the scale of this Witcher production. The Witcher: Blood Origin appears to have massive sets being built. It also will film portions of its story in Iceland. An epic setting for an epic story. And, of course, don’t miss the prop fish.
We can’t wait to see more of this world.
Originally published on July 27, 2020.
The post Everything We Know About THE WITCHER: BLOOD ORIGIN appeared first on Nerdist.
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