Blood Origin is not only a prequel to The Witcher, but also tells the story of the first Witcher. We give you all the info on the cast, the story, the release and more.
With Blood Origin Netflix tells the prequel to The Witcher with Henry Cavill and also shows how the first witcher was created. In the following article, we provide you with all the info on the prequel series: the release, the cast and what’s up with fans’ hopes that Jason Momoa will be in it.
Blood Origin: All info on the Witcher prequel
Release: When does Blood Origin start?
No launch date yet: Currently, the Netflix series Blood Origin has no official release date. However, filming of the prequel to The Witcher is scheduled to take place between May and December 2021, which would allow for a summer 2022 release of Blood Origin.
Platform: Where is Blood Origin running?
Exclusively on Netflix: Like The Witcher with Henry Cavill, Blood Origin is produced by Netflix. This means that the TV series will land exclusively on this streaming service, a release on competing platforms such as Amazon Prime, Disney Plus or AppleTV+ is not planned.
That would only make sense, since season 2 of the main series The Witcher is still expected in 2021:
Staseason and episodes: How extensive will Blood Origin be?
According to current information, a season of The Witcher Blood Origin is planned as a miniseries, which will comprise a total of six episodes. It is currently unknown whether further seasons will follow.
Story: This is what Blood Origin is about
Blood Origin is set about 1,200 years before the events of Andrzej Sapkowski’s novels or the TV series The Witcher. Specifically, it is supposed to be about the creation of the first sorcerers, for which there was a need after the so-called Conjunction of the Spheres.
The infamous conjunction of the spheres created the expansive world that fans of The Witcher know from the books, video games and the TV series: The originally separate worlds of humans, elves and other races were united by it.
However, not only magic, but also monsters or other creatures thus ended up in the home of the humans, which made the sorcerers necessary: children who were formed into superhuman mutants and monster hunters with the help of cruel experiments and rituals.
The story of the first sorcerers has so far only been touched upon or told in passing, but never in detail, in all Witcher media. Netflix now wants to change that with Blood Origin.
Cast: These actors make an appearance
As of this writing, only two cast members of Blood Origin are officially confirmed: Laurence O’Fuarain (Game of Thrones, Vikings) and Michelle Yeoh (Star Trek Discovery, Tiger and Dragon). Read more about their roles in the Blood Origin character section.
Originally, actress Jodie Turner-Smith (Queen & Slim, Nightflyers) was cast for the role of Eile “the Lark” Lithe. However, as Netflix confirmed to Variety in early April, Turner-Smith had to leave the project again. The reason for this is scheduling conflicts that no longer allow the actress to take part in Blood Origin. It is currently not known who will take the role of Eile instead of Jodie Turner-Smith.
According to reports from the insider website Redanian Intelligence, Jacob Collins-Levy (Peaky Blinders, The White Princess) has been confirmed as another actor in The Witcher Blood Origin. The 29-year-old Australian is set to play the alder elf Eredin, who will appear in both Blood Origins and season 2 of the main series:
Characters: these are the characters of Blood Origin.
Who is Rush “the Lark” Lithe? An elite warrior with the voice of a goddess who leaves her clan and her position as the Queen’s bodyguard to become a wandering musician.
However, there is an incident (possibly the conjunction of the spheres?) that forces Hurry to take up the sword once again to seek revenge and possibly find redemption at some point.
Who is Scian? For Blood Origin, Michelle Yeoh takes on the role of Scian. This “sword elf” is described as one of the last of her kind, roaming the land as a kind of nomadic tribe. Scian’s passionate fighting skills with the sword are said to be unmatched by anyone else. In Blood Origin, Michelle Yeoh as Scian goes in search of a sacred sword that was stolen from her tribe. Scian is likely to have a major impact on the story of Blood Origin, as her mission is said to “affect the entire continent”.
Who is Fjall? A warrior born into a clan sworn to protect their king. Traumatised and scarred by the death of a beloved ally, he seeks redemption as well as revenge and thus finds himself alongside unlikely allies. According to initial information from the series casting, Fjall is likely to be an elf.
In addition to Eile and Fjall, a character named Princess Merwyn is also said to be at the centre of Blood Origin and, of course, the “first sorcerer”. There is no further information about these two characters at the moment.
Who is Eredin Bréacc Glas? The Erlenelf is known to Witcher 3 players as a great villain. In the books, Geralt’s foster daughter Ciri first made acquaintance with the King of the Wild Hunt in the novel Lady of the Lake. The Wild Hunt was an elite unit of the Alder Elf race that travelled to the mortal world to enslave humans even before the Sphere Conjunction. Since the prequel series is set in a world before the Dimensional Conjunction, we would meet Eredin in Blood Origin in his role in the early canon of world history.
Incidentally, many fans would indeed like to see Jason Momoa (Game of Thrones, Aquaman) in the role of Blood Origin’s first sorcerer. It does fit with this that Momoa fuelled potential rumours with a post on Instagram. However, scheduling conflicts currently suggest that Momoa will not be in Blood Origin. This is reported by the usually well-informed insider website Redanian Intelligence:
Jason Momoa update: He is currently scheduled to film a movie called 'Slumberland' from February to June, so it appears he couldn't take the part he was in talks for 'The Witcher: Blood Origin' since it's scheduled to start production in April.
— Redanian Intelligence: The Witcher (@RedanianIntel) January 27, 2021
Behind the scenes: Who is responsible?
Lauren S. Hissrich, who already brought The Witcher with Henry Cavill to Netflix, is once again responsible behind the scenes for Blood Origin. Hissrich is working with Declan De Barra, who is also involved in the main series as a writer.
Trailer: Is there first footage of the TV series?
No, there is currently no trailer for Blood Origin. After all, the filming of the TV series hasn’t even started yet. It is scheduled for May 2021, so fans should not expect the first images of the Witcher prequel until then.
What else is happening in the universe of The Witcher?
The Witcher: Season 2 and what else the future holds
Season 2 of the Netflix series The Witcher is currently in production. Filming is already underway. We have already summarised all the information about the new season with Henry Cavill as the sorcerer Geralt of Riva for you. The main story is set to run for a total of seven seasons. Whether all of them will actually be realised in this way, however, remains to be seen.
Animated film: Nightmare of the Wolf
In season 2 of The Witcher, Geralt’s mentor Vesemir (portrayed by Kim Bodnia) makes his first appearance. The old wizard even gets his own personal anime short film entitled Nightmare of the Wolf. It is currently unknown when exactly the Witcher film will be released on Netflix.
New Witcher game from CD Projekt Red
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt may have brought Geralt’s story to an end, but CD Projekt Red has not finished with the Witcher universe: The studio announced that it will devote itself to the development of a fourth Witcher game after Cyberpunk 2077.
