Despite beginning filming nearly a year ago, The Witcher: Blood Origin could be facing some setbacks. Rumored reshoots and a shorter episode count for the series could mean bringing back more of a Jaskier's charm and storytelling as part of Netflix's original prequel.
The Witcher: Blood Origin is centered around a massive time jump that takes the miniseries back 1200 years before Geralt of Rivia and Jaskier ever crossed paths, mostly focusing on the events that precede the Conjunction of Spheres. Netflix has seen great success with The Witcher franchise, as Andrzej Sapkowski's novels and the CD Projekt Red games have laid the basis for a fantasy universe that’s already spawned the Nightmare of the Wolf anime as an origin story for Vesemir.
According to reports from Redanian Intelligence, The Witcher: Blood Origin went into the post-production stage in November of last year. However, the series underwent some reshoots in April that involve actor Joey Batey, who plays Jaskier in the main series. Jaskier's role in Blood Origin is to serve as the storyteller who bridges the gap between the events unfolding in the show starring Henry Cavill and the history lesson that is supposed to be Blood Origin, though those interludes could be expanded upon, something unlikely to bother Witche r fans who believe Jaskier deserves a spinoff.
The Witcher: Blood Origin still lacks an official release date, as it is only scheduled by Netflix to premiere in late 2022 and before The Witcher, which is currently filming its third season. About 10 months ago, Netflix and showrunner Declan de Barra shared some behind-the-scenes footage from “Of Battles and Bloody Blades,” Blood Origin's pilot episode. However, it remains to be seen if the new supposed 4-episode story arc leaves that untouched.
The Blood Origin prequel stars Laurence O'Fuarain, Sophia Brown, and Michelle Yeoh, with the latter currently enjoying some extra popularity due to her role in the stellar Everything Everywhere All at Once. Potential delays in the scheduling could be a major factor in The Witcher season 3 ultimately skipping its December release window, instead moving to 2023, a more plausible scenario given the show is barely shooting right now.
As Netflix and its shareholders continue to endure negative growth numbers, the platform is more than ever starved for quality content, especially after its latest Resident Evil adaptation bombed so badly.
The Witcher: Blood Origin is currently in post-production.
Source: Redanian Intelligence