The Witcher S3 Lands Next Summer, Blood Origin on Xmas Day

As part of the recent Netflix TUDUM event, we learned that Season 3 of The Witcher series will be released in Summer 2023. While there were no clips or other details to be shared, we already know that it will be based on Andrzej Sapkwoski’s Time of Contempt novel, the fourth in the official reading order. Showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich already commented that it’s the most easily adaptable The Witcher book, and we won’t have to wait long before we find out if that’s the case.

Meanwhile, fans of the saga can look forward to the prequel series Blood Origin, which will be released on December 25th as a nice Christmas present.

#TUDUM Exclusive: Minnie Driver has joined the cast of The Witcher: Blood Origin! https://t.co/qWPDu4FQ0j

— Netflix (@netflix) September 24, 2022

Oscar-nominated actress Minnie Driver was also confirmed to be part of the cast in the peculiar role of narrator. More specifically, her character is a Seanchai lore-collector who can travel across time and space (not unlike Ciri, perhaps). Driver explained:

Where The Witcher came from is a whole world and you need some help understanding that. So I’m pivotal in helping people understand where this origin story comes from.

That’s what is so brilliant about Blood Origin creator Declan de Barra, and also it’s sort of in keeping with all the characters in The Witcher. They are these fully formed, fleshed-out, amazing characters. 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.

Blood Origin is set roughly 1200 years before the main events of the story, at a time when the Elven civilization was dominant and still untouched by the human and monster worlds. Throughout the four episodes of this limited series, viewers will get to witness the creation of the first Witcher and the events leading up to the Conjunction of the Spheres.

Later this year, CD Projekt Red will also release The Witcher 3’s next-generation update, which should include some DLCs inspired by the Netflix show.