Marcella and Giri/Haji star, Sophie Brown, has joined the cast of Netflix’s upcoming prequel series, The Witcher: Blood Origin, rounding out the lead cast. Set 1200 years before the world of The Witcher, the series promises to tell the story behind the creation of the first Witcher and the events leading to the "Conjunction of the Spheres", the world-altering event that led to the merging of the worlds of men, monsters, and Elves.
Based on the popular fantasy series by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski, which inspired the hugely popular video-games by CD Projekt Red, Netflix’s The Witcher was a huge ratings draw when it premiered on the streaming platform in late 2019. That series stars Henry Cavill as the eponymous Witcher, Geralt of Rivia who travels the Continent hunting monsters until he finds his fate intertwined with that of a young girl, Ciri. While The Witcher: Blood Origins is not based on any of the novels or short stories written by Sapkowski, the author is set to serve as creative consultant on the live-action limited series.
Brown replaces Jodie Turner-Smith, who had to leave the project due to scheduling conflicts, and will play Éile, an “elite warrior with the voice of a goddess.” She joins Michelle Yeoh and Laurence O'Fuarain who will play Scian and Fjall (respectively) in the upcoming series. While little is known about the series as a whole, Netflix’s announcement did include a description of Brown’s character which offered further insight, describing her as being on a "quest for vengeance and redemption." The full character description can be read below:
Éile, an elite warrior blessed with the voice of a goddess, has left her clan and position as Queen's guardian to follow her heart as a nomadic musician. A grand reckoning on the Continent forces her to return to the way of the blade in her quest for vengeance and redemption.
Éile’s description as a “nomadic musician” strongly implies a bard-like role, not dissimilar to fan-favorite character, Jaskier (Dandelion in the books), from the main series - albeit far more deadly. Considering that the series will be set in the world of the Elves, a world long-forgotten by the events of The Witcher, it will be interesting to see how she reacts and contends with her fellow characters. In particular, whether or not Éile’s training as an elite guard will bring her into conflict with Yeoh’s Scian, who has been described as a sword-elf; especially if Éile is as reluctant to resort to violence as her description implies.
Sapkowski’s novels have never gone into too much detail about the events leading up to "Conjunction of the Spheres," and seeing how these characters fit into the world-changing event surrounding it is something that fans are likely clamoring for. Filming for The Witcher: Blood Origin is set to begin in August in the UK, so fans will likely learn more about the six-part mini-series once that wraps, or at WitcherCon on July 9th. In the meantime, the second season of The Witcher is slated for release towards the end of 2021, so fans will have to wait until then to return to Geralt of Rivia’s world.
Source: Netflix
