«The Witcher» spin-off: new Netflix series to be set 1200 years before Geralt of Rivia
29.7.2020
Translation: Patrik Stainbrook
Netflix is expanding «The Witcher» universe: «The Witcher: Blood Origin» takes place 1200 years before the events of the main series and tells the story of the first Witcher.
Netflix will continue to milk its new cash cow with relish: after the grand success of «The Witcher» series starring computer geek Henry Cavill, the streaming company has announced a spin-off set in the same universe.
«The Witcher: Blood Origin».
The catch: the series takes place about 1200 years before the events of the original series. According to the Netflix announcement,, this is a world of monsters, humans and elves into which the very first sorcerer is born.
The story is told in six episodes. Two episodes less than the mother series. We don't yet know when it'll be out yet.
What exactly is «The Witcher: Blood Origin» about?
As a reminder: «The Witcher» is set on a nameless continent that was settled by Elves from overseas several thousand years ago. When they arrived, the Elves met Gnomes and Dwarves. After a war, the Dwarves retreated to the mountains and the Elves escaped to the plains and forests.
Then, about 1500 years ago, a magical catastrophe commonly called the «conjunction of the spheres» occurred: a cosmic collision of several parallel universes. As a result, numerous creatures which didn't belong to this world, suddenly got stuck there.
From this point on, all further traditions contradict each other: the elves claim that during the conjunction, humans also arrived and learned to use magic.
Humans on the other hand insist that they only settled the nameless continent about five hundred years ago, along with demons and monsters from the parallel dimensions. Elves then taught humans how to fight monsters using magic – they became the first sorcerers. But the humans used this newly acquired knowledge to wage a series of victorious wars against the races living on the continent: non-human races have since been regarded as second-class citizens, often living a lowly existence in ghettos within the human settlements.
So far, so inconsistent. To ensure that «The Witcher: Blood Origin» nevertheless accurately fits into the world of author Andrzej Sapkowski – Sapkowski wrote the first «The Witcher» novels back in the early 1990s – the creator is on board as a creative consultant.
The hardest secret to keep
The series will again be produced by Lauren S. Hissrich, who already produced «The Witcher» and also acted as showrunner. Apparently this prequel series has been confirmed for quite a while now. But no one was allowed to talk about it until now. According to Hissrich:
This has been the toughest secret to keep! I've always wanted to dive deeper into the myth and lore of the Continent(...)
Declan de Barra takes on the role of showrunner in «The Witcher: Blood Origin». This role usually oversees all content, creative and administrative decisions. He previously co-wrote Netflix' «The Witcher»:
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 (...), often compounded by colonization and a rewriting of history. The Witcher: Blood Origin will tell the tale of the Elven civilization before its fall, and most importantly reveal the forgotten history of the very first Witcher.
This means that three «The Witcher» series or movies are now in production for Netflix: first, there's the second season of «The Witcher», scheduled for release next year – 2021.
On the other hand, Netflix is also working on a «The Witcher» animated film called «The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf». Apparently it will focus on Vesemir, Geralt's teacher and father figure at Kaer Morhen, where witchers are trained.
Looks like Netflix is slowly working on their own «The Witcher» Cinematic Universe, don't you think?
Speaking of which: just because it's very, very important right now.
If you don't want to miss any more behind-the-scenes news around the world of cinema and TV series, follow me by clicking on the «Follow author» button.
Luca Fontana
Senior Editor
Luca.Fontana@digitecgalaxus.chI'm an outdoorsy guy and enjoy sports that push me to the limit – now that’s what I call comfort zone! But I'm also about curling up in an armchair with books about ugly intrigue and sinister kingkillers. Being an avid cinema-goer, I’ve been known to rave about film scores for hours on end. I’ve always wanted to say: «I am Groot.»
6 comments
later