The Witcher: Blood Origin showrunner Declan De Barra has hinted at the possibility of more Witcher spinoffs to come set in Netflix’s ever-expanding universe. Set 1,200 years prior to the events of the main series, The Witcher: Blood Origin charts the events which led to the world changing occurrence known as the Conjunction of the Spheres, as well as the creation of the first Witcher. Released by Netflix on Christmas day, the series includes the likes of Sophia Brown, Michelle Yeoh and Minnie Driver, and also features main series star Joey Batey as the fan-favorite bard Jaskier.
This latest four-episode miniseries serves as the second spinoff set in The Witcher universe after 2021’s animated film The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf. With a wealth of source material at their fingertips, De Barra has recently hinted at the possibility of even more Witcher spinoff events to follow. Speaking with RadioTimes.com, the showrunner praised the original novelist Andrzej Sapkowski as “the king of the closed ended story” and the rich tapestry of his fantasy world. He also spoke about the advantages of doing the various stand-alone spinoffs set within his world, suggesting they “paint another side to this world and expand it outward.” Check out his full comments below:
Sapkowski is the king of the closed ended story, the more we read of his books, the broader the tapestry of the world. So that’s the advantage of doing all these – they might be standalone pieces, but they paint another side to this world and expand it outward. That’s the fun part.
What’s Next For The Witcher Universe?
With The Witcher: Blood Origin currently available on Netflix, fans of the franchise are currently waiting to see Henry Cavill return as Geralt of Rivia for his final turn in the role before handing the mantle across to Liam Hemsworth for season 4. While no specific release date for The Witcher season 3 has been announced as yet, Netflix has confirmed that it will be released sometime in summer 2023. The main series showrunner Lauren S. Hissrich has confirmed that the upcoming season will provide Cavill with “the most heroic sendoff that we could have”.
While it remains to be seen how successful The Witcher will continue to be once Hemsworth assumes the role of Geralt, Netflix still seem intent on enhancing their investment in the growing franchise. At last year’s TUDUM fan event, the streamer announced plans for a second animated movie after The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf, as well as a new family friendly series set within the same world. However, additional details about either project have been slim since they were first announced over a year ago.
In addition to these official announcements, rumors have also been circulating that a new spinoff series will focus on the group of Nilfgaardian misfits and criminals known as The Rats. In Sapkowski’s books, The Rats are featured in Ciri’s story as she joins their ranks for a while, and it has already been announced that The Rats will indeed feature in The Witcher season 3. Whatever the future may hold for The Witcher’s various spinoff projects, it seems unlikely that The Witcher: Blood Origin will be last standalone piece set within the world of the Continent.
