The Witcher has been a huge hit for Netflix, and it's now been confirmed that The Witcher: Blood Origin is in the works for the streaming giant. It's a live-action series, and has received a six-episode order (it's currently unclear whether it will be a standalone spinoff or if there are plans for it to become a companion series of sorts for the main show).
What we do know is that it's set 1200 years before the events of The Witcher, and 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.
Declan de Barra will serfve as Executive Producer and Showrunner and Lauren Schmidt Hissrich will act as Executive Producer. Andrzej Sapkowski, meanwhile, is on board as creative consultant on the series. Jason Brown and Sean Daniel from Hivemind, and Tomek Baginski and Jarek Sawko from Platige Films will also all be executive producers.
"As a lifelong fan of fantasy, I am beyond excited to tell the story The Witcher: Blood Origin," Declan de Barra says. "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. How vast swathes of knowledge are lost forever in such a short time, often compounded by colonization and a rewriting of history. Leaving only fragments of a civilization’s true story behind. 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."
"I am so thrilled to collaborate with Declan and the Netflix team on The Witcher: Blood Origin," Lauren Schmidt Hissrich notes. "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."
"It is exciting that the world of Witcher - as planned in the very beginning - is expanding," continues Andrzej Sapkowski. "I hope it will bring more fans to the world of my books."
The Witcher: Blood Origin is set to shoot in the UK, but with everything happening in the world right now, it seems unlikely that Netflix has decided on a start date. However, productions in the country have resumed, so assuming the streamer starts putting a cast together, it could be sooner than expected.
Are you excited for the prequel series?