In another huge reveal coming out of Brazil’s CCXP (Comic Con Experience), Netflix dropped the full trailer for their upcoming four-part limited series, The Witcher: Blood Origin, which makes its debut on December 25th. The series stars Michelle Yeoh, Sophia Brown and Laurence O’Fuarain, and is set long before the streamer’s flagship Witcher series. As per Netflix’s official logline:
More than a thousand years before the events of “The Witcher,” seven outcasts in an Elven world join forces in a quest against an all-powerful empire
It sounds to me like the series is a bit of a riff on the classic Seven Samurai/ Magnificent Seven formula, where an eclectic group of outlaws and outcasts team up to take on the forces of evil. Seven, of course, is always the critical number. While Yeoh is the biggest name involved, Brown seems to be the lead here, with her playing Éile, a former member of the Queen’s guard turned travelling musician. Yeoh plays Scían, the last of a tribe of sword elves (who seems like she fills the mentor role quite nicely), while O’Fuarain is Fjall, a disgraced warrior seeking redemption.
It’ll be interesting to see how fans react to Netflix’s attempt to branch out The Witcher franchise, which is based on the best-selling book series by Andrzej Sapkowski. One of the significant aspects that’s helped the show catch on in such a big way is Henry Cavill starring as Geralt of Rivia. Still, with him about to exit the show, they’ll need to get audiences invested more in the universe than any one actor, and Blood Origin looks like a step in that direction.
While The Witcher: Blood Origin comes out on Christmas, you can still expect another entire season of Cavill playing Geralt when the third season makes its Netflix debut in 2023.
Do you think The Witcher: Blood Origin looks good? Let us know in the comments!