‘The Witcher’ and Spin-Off Series ‘Blood-Origin’ Release Dates Announced

This year’s TUDUM festival came and went, with Netflix revealing release dates, cast members, and more for The Witcher Season 3 and its prequel, The Witcher: Blood Origin.

Blood Origin will throw its source material out the window and dial things back to the very beginning, taking place 1200 years before the fantasy series (and original books) began. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Netflix executive Kelly Luegenbiehl said the series was inspired by “a few lines in the books” after co-creators Declan de Barra and Lauren Schmidt Hissrich hit a “plot hole” while crafting the story for The Witcher season two.

De Barra told EW, “We were trying to understand what the world was like for elves right before the Conjunction of the Spheres. It’s very vague in the books as to what happened. I got out a whiteboard and sketched out this plan of what I thought: what elves wanted in this world and what the society was like pre-colonization. That kind of stuck.”

The prequel will introduce an elite warrior named Éile and her decision to leave her clan to pursue her dream of becoming a musician – however that dream is cut short when the world is threatened by a new order and Éile begins a fight for vengeance. This plot will give insight into how the first prototype of the witcher came to be and the life-changing event that led to “the worlds of monsters, men, and elves becoming one.”

Here’s everything you need to know about when The Witcher: Blood Origin and The Witcher Season 3 will premiere on Netflix, as well as their respective casts.

The Witcher: Blood Origin Release Date

All four episodes of The Witcher: Blood Origin will premiere December 25 on Netflix.

The Witcher Season 3 Release Date

Netflix is staying hush about the exact release date for The Witcher Season 3, but the streamer teased that it will drop in Summer 2023.

Who’s in Cast of The Witcher: Blood Origin?

If you’re only watching The Witcher for dreamboat Henry Cavill, unfortunately, The Witcher: Blood Origin might not be for you because this new series is introducing an all-star cast of its own.

Netflix announced that Minnie Driver will join the prequel series as the narrator, who is a seanchai described as “a shapeshifting collector of old lore with the abilities to travel between time and worlds.”

Driver commented on her role, saying: “Where The Witcher came from is a whole world and you need some help understanding that. So I’m pivotal in helping people understand where this origin story comes from.”

Previously announced cast members include:

• Sophia Brown as Éile
• Laurence O’Fuarain as Fjall
• Michelle Yeoh as Scian
• Mirren Mack as Merwyn
• Lenny Henry as Balor
• Jacob Collins Levy as Eredin
• Lizzie Annis as Zacaré
• Huw Novelli as Callan “Brother Death”
• Francesca Mills as Meldof
• Amy Murray as Fenrik
• Nathaniel Curtis as Brían
• Zach Wyatt as Syndril
• Dylan Moran as Uthrok One-Nut

Who’s in the Cast of The Witcher Season 3?

The Witcher Season 3 will see the return of Henry Cavill as Geralt, Freya Allan as Ciri, and Anya Chalotra as Yennefer, as well as four new characters, which Netflix announced back in April: Robbie Amell as Gallatin, Meng’er Zhang as Milva, Hugh Skinner as Radovid, and Christelle Elwin as Mistle.

Netflix has confirmed the returning actors:

• Joey Batey as Jaskier
• MyAnna Buring as Tissaia de Vries
• Tom Canton as Filavandrel
• Jeremy Crawford as Yarpen Zigrin
• Eamon Farren as Cahir Mawr Dyffryn aep Ceallach, A.K.A “Black Knight”
• Mahesh Jadu as Vilgefortz of Roggeveen
• Terence Maynard as Artorius Vigo
• Lars Mikkelsen as Stregobor
• Mimî M Khayisa as Fringilla Vigo
• Royce Pierreson as Istredd
• Wilson Mbomio as Dara
• Anna Shaffer as as Triss Merigold
• Therica Wilson-Read as Sabrina Glevissig
• Cassie Clare as Philippa Eilhart
• Mecia Simson as Francesca Findabair
• Graham McTavish as Sigismund Dijkstra
• Bart Edwards as Duny
• Simon Callow as Codringher
• Liz Carr as Fenn
• Ed Birch as Vizimir
• Kaine Zajaz as Gage