Netflix's The Witcher: Blood Origin has just added Good Will Hunting's Minnie Driver to its cast in a major role. Not only will her character be a substantial presence in the show itself, but she will also be the narrator for the upcoming miniseries.
Driver is the latest to join the highly-anticipated prequel to Netflix's hit adaptation of The Witcher, and it looks as though her part will be a rather crucial one. She will play a Seanchaí. Essentially serving as a guide for the audience, she will be the guide for viewers who may not have been able to keep a solid grasp on the lore and story otherwise. But she also boasts the ability to move between different times and worlds, not unlike the powerful Ciri herself.
As part of Netflix's TUDUM fan event, Driver spoke about her character's importance to the lore and story of The Witcher: Blood Origin. "Where The Witcher came from is a whole world and you need some help understanding that," she explained. "So I'm pivotal in helping people understand where this origin story comes from." Similar to Joey Batey's Jaskier in the main Witcher series in his many interactions with Henry Cavill's Geralt of Rivia, it seems as though Driver's character will keep things real with her style of narration as well.
"It does live in the same world, in the way that a narrator is the spine of your initial understanding when you are entering into a world," Driver continued. "To begin with, they've got to really hold you and bring you into the story and introduce this whole world to you... but they're very, very different characters." Given The Witcher's penchant for complex characters, this should be no surprise to fans, and Driver seems to be one herself. "They are these fully formed, fleshed-out, amazing characters," she further detailed. "It's why I wanted to do it. It's because the character is so beautiful and strange. And nothing like anything I'd ever done before."
Along with Batey, who will play Jaskier again as a bridge between Blood Origin and the main Witcher series, the prequel series boasts a rather stacked cast of impressive names. This includes Giri/Haji's Sophia Brown, Everything Everywhere All at Once star Michelle Yeoh, and even Sir Lenny Henry, who currently plays Trailsman Sadoc Burrows of the Harfoot tribe on The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. That's only the tip of the iceberg, as well.
Driver is sure to be a valued and engaging addition to the already enviable cast of Blood Origin. Luckily, fans don't have too much longer to wait before seeing for themselves what she and the rest of the team have in store. But maybe there's enough time to get in one more binge of The Witcher to brush up on things.
The Witcher: Blood Origin will premiere on December 25th on Netflix.
Source: Netflix TUDUM