The Witcher: Blood Origin showrunner: "This is a very different type of Witcher"

Netflix's The Witcher remains one of the streamer's most beloved shows – perhaps it's no surprise, then, that a spin-off series is coming soon. The Witcher: Blood Origin dives into the history of The Continent and the so-called Conjunction of the Spheres, when multiverses collided and magic became a reality. In other words, don't expect Geralt to show up.

"This is a very different type of Witcher," showrunner Declan de Barra tells Total Film in the new issue of the magazine, featuring Avatar: The Way of Water on the cover. "It is a rough and nasty prototype that’s barely functioning, but you get the idea of how it’s going to be refined later on."

Blood Origin shows the height of the Elves’ doomed civilization. In the finest fantasy tradition, the show will also feature a quest, but don’t expect Scian (Michelle Yeoh) and her sidekicks to get along. "This is the story of seven vagabonds, warriors, heroes, whatever you want to call them, who honestly hate each other at the beginning," says executive producer Lauren Schmidt Hissrich. "They feel like they shouldn’t be on this quest together and then, as on any good heroes’ journey, they realize they need each other."

Running at just four episodes, Blood Origin will be one Netflix binge you can easily fit around the turkey this Christmas, as the show arrives on Netflix this coming Christmas day. "I love when a show finishes and you go, 'Holy fuck, it’s over! How did that happen?'" laughs de Barra. "And it is a one-off. I mean, there are characters and storylines in this that can sprawl off in a million different ways, but it was designed to be a self-contained tasty sandwich of a fantasy story."

• Order a copy of Total Film’s Avatar: The Way of Water issue here

 For more on The Witcher: Blood Origin, be sure to pick up the new issue of Total Film, which is on news stands (and digital devices) now. The show reaches Netflix on December 25.

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