It’s almost time to toss another coin to The Witcher. The show, soon to be on its third season, announced when fans could expect the next installment, and also announced the air date of series prequel The Witcher: Blood Origin.The Witcher is an adaptation of the fantasy book series by the same name, authored by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski. Though the video game franchise is more well known, the series instead sticks closer to the books and is considered an adaptation of those works. It has been a huge success for Netflix and stars Man of Steel actor Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia, a “Witcher” or beast hunter. Also linked to Geralt's many adventures include characters like the sorceress Yennefer (Anya Chalotra), the Princess Ciri (Freya Allan), to whom Geralt is linked by destiny, and Jaskier (Joey Batey), a traveling bard who chooses to accompany Geralt on his many dangerous quests.As part of its annual TUDUM Event, Netflix tweeted out a poster for The Witcher season 3, which confirms that the series will be returning to fan's screens in the summer of 2023, at an unspecified date. The poster features Geralt’s Witcher medallion shattering and its chain breaking, hinting at tough times to come for the Witcher (who's no stranger to tough times, admittedly).
The streaming service also announced the release date for The Witcher: Blood Origin, which is expected to come out much sooner, on December 25 of this year. Blood Origin is a miniseries set 1200 years before the events depicted in The Witcher, and explores the creation of the first Witcher ever. The ancient Elven civilization (prior to its demise) will also be explored, as well as the events leading up to the event known as the "Conjunction of the Spheres".
Netflix’s faith in The Witcher is clearly strong. Just last year, an animated prequel film, The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf, was released and animated by the same studio which produced The Legend of Korra. It received positive reviews, particularly for its animation quality, and now, with Blood Origin, it appears the service is willing to explore many avenues for the future of the franchise.
With Stranger Things, probably Netflix’s number one flagship, ending with its fifth season, Netflix will likely require a new flagship. If The Witcher continues on this trajectory, it’s possible that it will take the crown over at Netflix.
The Witcher season 3 will release on Netflix in the summer of 2023, while The Witcher: Blood Origin hits Netflix on December 25, 2022.