#‘The Witcher’ getting a prequel series on Netflix, ‘Blood Origin’

By Andreas Wiseman, Deadline

Netflix has announced “The Witcher: Blood Origin,” a limited series from “The Witcher” universe.

“Blood Origin” will be a six part, live-action limited series, and a prequel to the streamer’s series “The Witcher.” Set in an elven world 1200 years before the world of “The Witcher,” the show will chart the origins 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.

The series is slated to shoot in the UK, though cast and a specific date has not been revealed.

Declan de Barra will act as executive producer and showrunner and Lauren Schmidt Hissrich will act as executive producer. Andrzej Sapkowski will serve as creative consultant on the series. Jason Brown and Sean Daniel from Hivemind, and Tomek Baginski and Jarek Sawko from Platige Films will all serve as executive producers.

Declan de Barra said: “As a lifelong fan of fantasy, I am beyond excited to tell the story ‘The Witcher: Blood Origin.’ 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.”

Lauren Schmidt Hissrich added: “I am so thrilled to collaborate with Declan and the Netflix team on ‘The Witcher: Blood Origin.’ 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.”

In January 2020, Netflix announced an animated spin-off film titled “The Witcher: Nightmare Of The Wolf,” focusing on the origin story of Geralt’s mentor and fellow Witcher Vesemir.