The official NXOnNetflix Twitter account has made quite the exciting announcement: the world of The Witcher will be getting even bigger! The popular Netflix series, which was watched by millions following its December 2019 release, will be receiving a prequel in the form of a 6-episode limited series entitled The Witcher: Blood Origin.
Fans who are hoping to see more of Henry Cavill’s Geralt of Rivia should temper their expectations – Blood Origin will be set 1200 years before the time of the White Wolf. It will explore important historical events including the Conjunction of the Spheres – when humans, elves, dwarves, monsters and more were first forced to share a single planet – and the creation of the very first Witcher.
Seeing these events portrayed on screen promises to be a fascinating experience for dedicated Witcher fans and newbies alike – the Continent’s history is the stuff of mystery and legend in both Andrzej Sapkowski’s original novels and CD Projekt RED’s video game series. Even Geralt himself admits that he does not know the origin of the various schools of Witchers or the secrets behind the “Trial of the Grasses,” the horrible experimentation which give the Wolf his signature snow-white hair and superhuman powers.
Blood Origin will be co-created by Lauren Schmidt Hissrich, who served as showrunner for The Witcher, and Declan de Barra, who wrote the Season 1 episode “Of Banquets, Bastards and Burials”. No release date has been announced for this series, but it is not expected to premiere until 2021 at the earliest. Filming has not yet begun, and may be delayed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
In the meantime, Season 2 of The Witcher is slated to resume filming sometime in August. A 2021 release for the second season is still planned. Hissrich has confirmed that it will feature a single timeline instead of Season 1’s non-chronological approach, and that other Witcher characters besides Geralt will be featured.
