Netflix's The Witcher: Blood Origin sounds like a rather interesting Christmas present for Witcher fans
Learn the origins of the first Witcher and why monsters roam the Continent.
Netflix's prequel to The Witcher, The Witcher: Blood Origin, will air in December, and the show's creator has shared some information on the upcoming mini-series.
The four-part series is set 1,200 years before the adventures of Geralt of Rivia, and was created by Declan De Barra and The Witcher showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich.
Blood Origin will cover the Conjunction of the Spheres, a cataclysm trapping unnatural creatures such as ghouls and vampires in the dimension where the story takes place. The collision created rifts of different realms bringing with it a force known as chaos or magic. This event also displaced many native races, unable to fight off so many dangerous creatures. The show will explain how the cataclysm happened, the reasons behind it, and how the first Witcher came to be.
The mini-series shows how a Continent once dominated by elves and untouched by man's colonization was a "thriving society" filled with numerous kingdoms and hierarchies. It was a technically advanced era in magic and science, yet while enlightened, it also had its fair share of problems due to being a hierarchical society. Residents were either "highborn or lowborn,” and this form of racism and specie-ism was prevalent.
“Viewers will be surprised because they’re going to see a story told about a period of elven history that was buried by the humans after their arrival and eventual conquest of the continent,” De Barra told Neflix's Tudum. “We get to tell a tale about the elves when they were at their height, like all great societies before their fall.”
Blood Origin will follow the history of the elves' collapse, through the eyes of three heroes named Scian, Eile and Fjall - played by Michelle Yeoh, Sophia Brown and Laurence O’Fuarain, respectively. Out for vengeance of one sort or another, the story will cover the perspectives of their enemies as well.
Minnie Driver will also star in the short series as Seanchai, a shapeshifting storyteller that can travel between worlds and times, Mirren Mack lends their acting chops to Merwyn, a princess, and Lenny Henry will play as the king's right-hand man, Chief Sage Balor
>Unlike The Witcher series, there won't be jumping timelines, but a more linear story, and certain core characters and fan favorites from the books in the later Witcher series will appear. Viewers can also expect items and discoveries made in Blood Origin that play off in later seasons of The Witcher with "critical effects" on the storyline.
The Witcher: Blood Origin will air on Netflix on December 25, making it a rather nice Christmas present for Witcher fans.