The upcoming prequel series to the Netflix hitThe Witcher,Blood Originhas found its lead in Jodie Turner-Smith. Reportedly, theQueen & SlimandNightflyersstar will play Éile, a character described as an “elite warrior blessed with the voice of a goddess, who has left her clan and position as Queen’s guardian to follow her heart as a nomadic musician. A grand reckoning on the continent forces her to return to the way of the blade in her quest for vengeance and redemption.”
Set 1200 years before the events ofThe Witcher,Blood Originis a six-part, live-action limited series. The prequel will “tell a story lost to time - the creation of the first prototype 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.”
The Witcherisbased on the book series of the same nameby Andrzej Sapkowski, which are also well known for the popular video game adaptations. The show stars Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia, the titular Witcher, with Freya Allan co-starring as the crown princess Ciri. The series also stars Eamon Farren, Anya Chalotra, Joey Batey, and MyAnna Buring. When it first premiered on Netflix in late 2019, it quickly became one of the streamer’s most-watched shows, though it had already been renewed before the show even released.
Season 2 ofThe Witcherisexpected to arrive sometime this year, and production is currently underway. It certainly hasn’t been a smooth production, as the series had to halt filming multiple times last year due to the coronavirus. In December, another setback occurred on set when Cavill was injured his leg while filming a scene. Though the injury was minor, it was enough to keep him from performing the highly-physical role. Still, production on the show resumed while Cavill recovered, so the series is still on track to return in 2021.
Also in the works atNetflixis another spinoff ofThe Witcher, this one an animated movie calledThe Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf. The movie will focus on the origin story of Vesemir, Geralt’s mentor, following his journey as he becomes a Witcher years before the start of the Netflix series. Last month, Netflix revealed a first look at the officialNightmare of the Wolflogo on Twitter.
The Vesemir character will also soon be coming to the originalWitcherseries as well. Last year, it was announced thatKilling Evestar Kim Bodnia had been cast to play Vesemir in the parent series and will be featured in the upcoming second season. Other newcomers to the cast includeGame of Thronesstar Kristofer Hivju, Yasen Atour, Agnes Born, Basil Eidenbenz, and Paul Bullion. Declan de Barra will serve as showrunner ofThe Witcher: Blood Origin, in addition to executive producing alongsideThe Witchercreator Lauren Schmidt Hissrich, Jason Brown and Sean Daniel from Hivemind, and Tomek Baginski and Jarek Sawko from Platige Films. Original author Andrzej Sapkowski is on board as a creative consultant. It’s not yet clear when production will begin or when the series will be released on Netflix. This news comes to us fromDeadline.
