In less than a month, we’ll be watching the first ever live-action spinoff of Netflix’s fantasy show The Witcher. The Witcher: Blood Origin is set to explore a historical event called the Conjunction of the Spheres, which takes place 1,200 years before the mothership series and paves the way for its world of monsters, mages, and mayhem.
But Blood Origin was never going to be the last of The Witcher spinoffs; Netflix has made its intention to establish a Witcher Cinematic Universe pretty plain, and it’s only been a matter of time before other projects join the ranks.
And now we may know what the next one is. Reliable Witcher scoop site Redanian Intelligence reports that Netflix is developing a live-action spinoff centered around the group of misfit bandits known as the Rats.
Netflix is reportedly working on yet another spinoff for The Witcher
As RI points out, the Rats are due to appear in the upcoming third season of The Witcher. They’re “a gang of misfit teenagers who steal from the rich and give to themselves – and sometimes the poor,” according to Netflix. Fans of The Witcher books by Andrzej Sapkowski have known this group of bandits was on the way; they crop up at the end of the novel The Time of Contempt and stick around through the beginning of the penultimate book, The Tower of Swallows.
We knew that the Rats would be making their debut this season because a few of the important ones have already been cast, such as Mistle (Christelle Elwin), Kayleigh (Fabian McCallum), Reef (Juliette Alexander), and Iskra (Aggy K. Adams). No casting has yet been announced for the group’s final two members, Asse and Giselher.
In Sapkowski’s novels, Ciri ends up falling in with the group and spends a decent chunk of the series marauding with them. All that training she received at Kaer Morhen means she can do things most bandits can’t, and she quickly proves she’s a valuable asset.
It’s not yet known whether this spinoff will be a prequel that explains the origins of the Rats, or take place when Ciri is a part of the troupe. Either could work. The spinoff will reportedly release between seasons 3 and 4, which would stay true to Netflix’s pattern of putting out a Witcher spinoff between each season of the mainline show that expands on one specific part of the universe, such as how Nightmare of the Wolf fleshed out Vesemir’s past before he appeared in season 2.
Netflix is moving full speed ahead on The Witcher despite losing the show’s lead Henry Cavill, who will be replaced with Liam Hemsworth starting in season 4. The Witcher: Blood Origin premieres on December 25.
To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and sign up for our exclusive newsletter.
Get HBO, Starz, Showtime and MORE for FREE with a no-risk, 7-day free trial of Amazon Channels