A thousand years before Geralt, the Witchers were born. But how
do a band of elven outcasts and the destruction wrought by the
Conjunction fit into that story? "The Witcher: Blood Origin" reveals it all.
We last visited the world of "The Witcher" in December 2021, when Season 2 premiered on
Netflix. As it turns out, the franchise is keeping the holiday tradition alive,
as the prequel series "Blood Origin" will hit the streaming service on December 25,
2022. What better way to celebrate the holidays than watching sword-wielding elves do battle?
Unfortunately, if you're looking forward to eight episodes of action like we got with
previous seasons of the actual "Witcher" series, we have some bad news for you. "Blood Origin"
will only be four episodes long. However, showrunner Declan de Barra thinks that's
the perfect amount of time to tell this particular story. Speaking with "Tudum," de Barra explained,
"This felt like a two-part movie. You never want to be watching a movie going,
'I love this movie.' And then you start to look at your watch going, 'Oh, please end soon.'"
De Barra was very clear that his story needed to feel right from the point of
view of the storytelling. He revealed that as they began editing the footage,
the season organically fell into a four episode structure. He continued,
"I wanted it to be a punch in the face, so that you can't take your eyes off of it."
But if you like long running times, it looks like that's what you're going to get,
as Entertainment Weekly has described the four episodes as "meaty."
And while we've yet to see a full-length trailer for "Blood Origin," excited fans
got a little taste of what's to come at the end of "The Witcher" Season 2. After
the conclusion of the final episode, the credits are interrupted by a quick teaser,
which takes us back 1,200 years and gives us a glimpse of our three primary heroes.
They traverse the forbidding countryside, with a storm looming on the horizon, and we witness them
prepare for battle. The teaser for "Blood Origin" promises a worthy entry in the "Witcher" saga.
"Blood Origin" takes place before the fabled Conjunction of the Spheres when the elves were
at the peak of their power. Of course, while they excel at science and magic,
their society is sharply divided by class and plagued by war. In the prequel series,
we'll witness the final days of this world, before elven society
crumbled and the Continent became a land terrorized by all manner of monsters.
"My elders worked with humans and got robbed of all they had.
And when they fought back, they were slaughtered."
In this changing landscape, the series will focus on seven ragtag heroes, all outcasts, who band
together despite their personal differences. As the official logline reads, they must,
"...unite against an unstoppable power that took everything from them. Their blood giving rise
to a prototype Witcher in a conflict that brings about the Conjunction of Spheres,
when the world of monsters, men, and elves merged to become one."
What exactly is a prototype Witcher? Speaking with "Tudum," Declan de Barra explained that
while Witchers weren't really a thing before humans showed up and established their schools,
there were still systems in place to bring about a very early version
of these supernatural monster hunters. De Barra elaborated,
"Say, Geralt is version 13.0, the upgrade. Ours is the 1.0,
rough and ready — the concept of a Witcher. It's the [original] model. What was the story there,
and how did that get lost? And who found that critical element later?"
"The Witcher" series has never been one to scrimp on big names. Superman himself,
Henry Cavill, has played Geralt of Rivia for three seasons. And when he
decided to step aside from the role, Liam Hemsworth of "Hunger Games" fame was hired
to fill his monster-hunting boots. In addition to those two impressive stars,
the original series also features top-tier talent like Anya Chalotra, Freya Allan, and Joey Batey.
Similarly, "Blood Origin" boasts an impressive cast. Perhaps the most celebrated actor of the
bunch is Michelle Yeoh, best known for beloved action flicks like "Everything Everywhere All
At Once" and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and TV shows like "Star Trek: Discovery." Here,
she plays an elf and expert swordswoman who's on a quest to retrieve a stolen blade.
On her journey, she's joined by another elf raised to be a warrior and taught by Yeoh's character,
only to give up her predestined future for the life of a musician. This second warrior
will be played by Sophia Brown, who's been a part of projects like "Giri/Haji" and "The
Capture." A third hero is an emotional and ax-wielding warrior seeking revenge
for someone who died in battle. He'll be played by Laurence O'Fuarain, who's appeared in shows
similar in tone to "Blood Origin," such as "Game of Thrones," "Vikings," and "Into the Badlands."
Of course, these three won't be alone when they eventually band together. Minnie Driver of "Good
Will Hunting" fame plays a storyteller with the ability to shapeshift and cross both time and
various worlds. Mirren Mack of "Sex Education" is a princess destined for a future she doesn't
want and who dreams of following in the footsteps of her historical hero, a female elven warrior.
A writer on "The Witcher," Declan de Barra stumbled across an interesting problem
while working on the show's second season. As he explained to "Tudum,"
"The [mystery of the] Conjunction Spheres led to this whole show because I was working
'The Witcher' Season 2, and we had a story point we couldn't fix because
we needed to know what happened. What was the world before the Conjunction?"
Andrzej Sapkowski's "Witcher" novels don't delve into the nuts and bolts of the Conjunction,
so de Barra decided to figure things out himself,
going so far as to map everything on a whiteboard. And as it turns out,
Netflix was very intrigued by what he developed, calling him up after Season 2 wrapped and
asking if he wanted to create a prequel series based on the concepts he'd just come up with.
De Barra then sat down in a cafe and began fleshing things out on a napkin,
telling Entertainment Weekly,
"It was one of those rare 'David Lynch in a
café' moments where the whole thing comes out in one go."
And now, he's overseeing the entire show, serving as the writer and executive producer.
We're super intrigued to see what magic he'll unleash in "Blood Origin."
"'Of Ballads and Bloodied Blades' written by some idiot called Declan de Barra."
With Declan de Barra as showrunner, Lauren Schmidt Hissrich as an executive producer,
and Andrzej Sapkowski as the show's creative consultant, we have to ask — who's directing
"The Witcher: Blood Origin?" Well, according to the show's official Twitter account,
that job will be split between Sarah O'Gorman and Vicky Jewson.
O'Gorman is no stranger to the world of "The Witcher," as she previously
directed two episodes from Season 2 of the flagship show. She's also done
work on other series such as "Cursed," "The Last Kingdom," and "Jamestown."
As for Jewson, she is new to the world of "The Witcher," but her background in
intense action makes us think she'll be a perfect fit for "Blood Origin." Previously,
Jewson helmed the Rooney Mara thriller "Close" and the revenge flick "Born of War."
Alex Garcia Lopez has stepped in to handle reshoots. Lopez is definitely comfortable
in the world of "The Witcher," as he directed two episodes from the
flagship show's first season. We can't wait to see what these three
helped create when the prequel series hits Netflix on December 25, 2022.
As showrunner, Declan de Barra is in charge of shepherding "The Witcher:
Blood Origin" where it needs to go. He's also the main writer of the series. He penned the
first episode by himself and co-wrote the fourth and final episode. However, he won't be the only
scribe bringing this story to life, as de Barra has assembled quite the writers' room.
Alongside de Barra, the fourth episode is reportedly co-written by Tasha Huo,
a relatively new screenwriter with big projects in the works. In addition to "Blood Origin,"
she's working on an anime "Tomb Raider" series and the upcoming "Red Sonja" movie.
Perhaps the show's most impressive get is Aaron Stewart-Ahn, who's twice now teamed
up with director Panos Cosmatos to create some horrifically weird stuff. Most recently,
they collaborated on the "Cabinet of Curiosities" episode "The Viewing," and most famously,
they co-wrote the script for the wild Nicolas Cage revenge thriller "Mandy."
"The Witcher" isn't exactly what you might call a family friendly show. Granted,
Netflix is working on an animated series meant for kids, but other than that,
it's pretty grown-up fare. Both the actual series and the animated movie,
"Nightmare of the Wolf," boast a TV-MA rating. But will "Blood Origin" be any different? Will it go
the same dark route as its predecessors, or will it take a tamer, lighter tone?
"The time of the sword and the ax is nigh."
If you're a fan of how the "Witcher" universe has been presented so far, then you have no need
to worry. On the show's Netflix page, you can click on the trailer, and there you'll see the
rating displayed as TV-MA. It also explains why it's gained TV's equivalent of an R,
and that's thanks to gore, language, nudity, smoking, and violence. Looks like "Blood Origin"
is doing it all — from exposed body parts to severed body parts and even gratuitous tobacco.
While "Blood Origin" serves as a prequel series to the first two seasons of "The
Witcher," you'll definitely want to check out the flagship show first. Declan de Barra has
promised the new series will feature plenty of Easter eggs for dedicated fans. They'll
delve into mysteries like the cause of the Conjunction and the origins of the Monoliths,
and it will set the stage for the terrifying world we've come to
know. And don't forget to check out the animated film "Nightmare of the Wolf."
"Blood Origin" will premiere on Netflix and Netflix alone,
and we can't wait to see it on December 25, 2022.