The Witcher spinoff Rats recruits Shadow and Bone director ahead of filming
By Dan Selcke
Netflix’s fantasy drama The Witcher started with a bang in 2019, as fans praised the first season and Henry Cavill’s performance as the titular character, Geralt of Rivia. Things soured a bit with season 2, which strayed inexcusably far from Andrzej Sapkowski’s Witcher novels. Then came the prequel spinoff Blood Origin, which was widely mocked by all.
The third season of the mainline show is coming this summer, but fans are apprehensive, especially with the news that this will be Cavill’s last season with the show; starting in season 4, Geralt will be played by Liam Hemsworth.
We’ll see how The Witcher season 3 goes over with fans when it comes out this summer. Meanwhile, Netflix is still trying to make a Witcher cinematic universe happen. To that end, they’re readying another spinoff: Rats, about a group of teenage thieves who steal from the rich and give to the poor (and also themselves).
Who are the Rats in The Witcher universe?
There are six members of the Rats: Giselher (Ben Radcliffe), Mistle (Christelle Elwin), Kayleigh (Fabian McCallum), Iskra (Aggy K. Adams), Reef (Juliette Alexandra) and Asse (Connor Crawford). The Witcher fansite Redanian Intelligence reports that all of them have gathered in Cape Town, South Africa, suggesting that filming is imminent. Redanian Intelligence has also learned that director Mairzee Almas — who’s worked on shows like Shadow and Bone, The Sandman and Outlander — is part of the project.
The Rats also appear in Sapkowski’s Witcher books. Given that the upcoming third season adapts the novel Time of Contempt, there’s a very good chance we could see them there, probably towards the end; it’s already been confirmed that Christelle Elwin will appear in season 3 as Mistle. But this new series sounds like it will chronicle the adventures of the Rats before they make their debut in the mainline series.
The Witcher season 3 will drop its first block of episodes on June 29. A second and final block will follow on July 27.
Next. New Game of Thrones spinoff shuts down writer’s room during strike. dark
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