Netflix is making 2023 the year of The Witcher.
The Witcher spinoff series, The Witcher: Blood Origin, was announced Saturday at the Tudum streamer fan event and will debut on December 25, and Season 3 of the main show, Witcher, will follow in summer 2023.
Fans last visited The Witcher universe almost a year ago, when Season 2 of Henry Cavill’s fantasy series released in December 2021. Since then, it has spawned even more spin-offs. In addition to the Blood Origin limited series, an anime feature is on the way and a family-friendly Witcher series is in the works.
Not much is known about The Witcher Season 3, but it will continue the story of Geralt of Rivia (Cavill), Ciri (Freya Allan), and Yennefer (Anya Chalotra). Joining the cast are Robbie Amell, Meng’er Zhang, Hugh Skinner and Christelle Elwin. Amell plays an elf fighter named Gallatin, who leads a Scoia’tael guerrilla army fighting for Nilfgaard. Zhang is Milva, a human adopted by the Dryads of Brokilon Forest who is a fierce and talented hunter. Skinner plays Prince Radovid, a royal playboy and the younger brother of King Vizimir (Ed Birch). Elwin is Mistle, a member of The Rats, a gang of teenagers who steal from the rich and give to themselves.
Set 1,200 years before the events of The Witcher in an elf world, the Blood Origin prequel series tells a story lost in time, including the creation of the first prototype of The Witcher and the events leading up to the decisive Conjunction of the spheres when the worlds of monsters, humans and elves merged into one.
It stars Michelle Yeoh as the Scian, the last member of a nomadic tribe of Sword Elves on a mission to recover a blade stolen from her people; Sophia Brown as Éile, a warrior of the Queen’s Guard who leaves to become a traveling musician; and Laurence O’Fuarain as Fjall, a man born into a clan of warriors sworn to protect a king who instead sets out to exact revenge. The rest of the cast includes Mirren Mack as Merwyn; Lenny Henry as Balor; Jacob Collins as Eredin; Lizzie Annis as Zacare; Huw Novelli as Callan “Brother Death”; Francesca Mills as Meldorf; Amy Murray as Fernik; Nathaniel Curtis as Brian; Zach Wyatt as Syndril; and Dylan Moran as Uthrok One-Nut.
See all the Netflix announcements from Saturday’s Tudum event here.