Blood Origin is not only a prequel to The Witcher, but also tells the story of the first Witcher. We provide you with 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 it has to do with the hopes of the fans that Jason Momoa will be in it.
Blood Origin: All the info on the Witcher prequel
Release: When does Blood Origin start?
No launch date yet: Currently, the Netflix series Blood Origin does not yet have an official release date. However, filming of the prequel to The Witcher is scheduled to take place between May and December 2021, which would allow Blood Origin to be released in the summer of 2022.
Platform: Where is Blood Origin playing?
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.
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Season 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 not known whether more seasons will follow.
Story: This is what Blood Origin is about
Blood Origin is set about 1,200 years before the events of the novels by Andrzej Sapkowski or the TV series The Witcher. Specifically, it is about the creation of the first sorcerers, for which there was a need after the so-called conjuncture 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 appear
With filming kicking off in the UK, Netflix revealed much of the casting. Starring Laurence O’Fuarain (Game of Thrones, Vikings) and Michelle Yeoh (Star Trek Discovery, Tiger and Dragon).
Originally, actress Jodie Turner-Smith (Queen & Slim, Nightflyers) was previously cast to play Éile “the Lark” Lithe. However, as Netflix confirmed to Variety at the beginning of 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.
The role of Éile was reassigned. Now Sophia Brown (Beauty and the Beast, Disobedience) plays the elven elite warrior, as Netflix announced via Twitter. Read more about Éile Lithe in the next section.
The cast for prequel series THE WITCHER: BLOOD ORIGIN continues to grow
Sophia Brown joins as Éile, an elite warrior-turned-nomadic musician who is forced to return to the way of the blade after a grand reckoning on the Continent sends her on a quest for vengeance and redemption pic.twitter.com/mjlhqH4gIM
— Netflix Geeked (@NetflixGeeked) July 8, 2021
With Lenny Henry (Lord of the Rings series from Amazon) as Balor, Mirren Mack (The Nest) as Merwyn, Nathaniel Curtis (It’s A Sin) as Brían and Dylan Moran (Black Books, Shaun of the Dead) as Uthrok One-Nut, Netflix was able to cast more roles for the start of filming.
Give a Witcher welcome today to the cast and crew joining The Witcher: Blood Origin. ⚔️
— The Witcher (@witchernetflix) August 16, 2021
Additionally on board for the prequel series, as previously rumoured, are Jacob Collins-Levy (The White Princess) as Erlenelf Eredin, Lizzie Annis (Night Growler) as Zacaré, Huw Novelli (The Capture) as Callan “Brother Death”, Francesca Mills (Harlots) as Meldof, Amy Murray as Fenrik and Zach Wyatt (Karen Pirie) as Syndril.
Characters: These are the characters of Blood Origin
Who is Éile “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 Éile 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 alder elf 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 dimensional intermixing, we would meet Eredin in Blood Origin in his role in the early canon of world history.
Incidentally, many fans would 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?
For Blood Origin, Lauren S. Hissrich is once again responsible behind the scenes, who already brought The Witcher with Henry Cavill to Netflix. Hissrich is working together with Declan De Barra, who is also involved as a writer for the main series.
Trailer: Is there any 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 only expect the first images of the Witcher prequel from then on.
What else is happening in The Witcher universe?
The Witcher: Season 2 and what else the future holds
Currently, season 2 of the Netflix series The Witcher is in production. Filming is already in the can. 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.
