Witcher Spin-Off Prequel Show Is On The Way From Netflix

The Witcher is Netflix's hugely popular fantasy show, based on the classic novel series. The upcoming second season will resume shooting next month following a five-month shut-down, and it's now been announced that a spin-off series is in development.

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The new show will be titled The Witcher: Blood Origin, and is a described by the streaming giant as a "six part, live-action limited series." The Witcher: Blood Origin will be a prequel to the main series, set 1,200 years earlier. It will explore the origin of the very first monster-hunting Witcher and will chart the events that led to the "conjunction of the spheres," where the world of monsters, men, and elves merged.

The showrunner for The Witcher: Blood Origin will be musician and writer Declan de Barra, who wrote The Witcher Season 1's fourth episode, as well as contributing songs to the show's soundtrack. He has also written for series such as Iron Fist and the The Vampire Diaries spin-off The Originals.

In a statement, de Barra said, "A question has been burning in my mind ever since I first read The Witcher books--what was the Elven world really like before the cataclysmic arrival of the humans? I've always been fascinated by the rise and fall of civilizations, how science, discovery, and culture flourish right before that fall. The Witcher: Blood Origin will tell the tale of the Elven civilization before its fall, and most importantly reveal the forgotten history of the very first Witcher."

In addition, Witcher showrunner Lauren Hissrich will be executive producer, while Andrzej Sapkowski, who wrote the original novels, will act a creative consultant. The show does not have a production start or premiere date yet, but Netflix has stated that it will shoot in the UK.

The Witcher Season 2, which also films in the UK, is set to resume production on August 17. Hissrich previously stated that it would appear sometime in 2021, and has also suggested that the story will be easier to follow than that of Season 1, which was spread over different timelines.