«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.
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»:
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.
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Luca Fontana
Senior Editor
Luca.Fontana@digitecgalaxus.chI write about technology as if it were cinema, and about films as if they were real life. Between bits and blockbusters, I’m after stories that move people, not just generate clicks. And yes – sometimes I listen to film scores louder than I probably should.
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