#The Witcher Prequel: Jodie Turner-Smith to Lead Cast

The Witcher: Blood Origin has found its lead in British actress Jodie Turner-Smith.

Blood Origin will be a six-part, live-action limited series and a prequel to the hit Netflix series The Witcher.

Set in an elven world 1200 years before the world of The Witcher, 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.

Turner-Smith is on board to play Éile, 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.

Sounds exciting, right?

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

“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?” said Declan de Barra in a statement when the prequel was announced.

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.”

Adds Lauren Schmidt Hissrich: “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.”

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Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.