‘The Witcher: Blood Origin’ Originally Left out This Character
The Witcher: Blood Origin, released on Netflix in 2022, is perfect for anyone who wants to enjoy some traditional mayhem and monster slaughtering. Blood Origin takes place about 1,200 years before the events of The Witcher, even though there is at least one face that fans will recognize from the original series. And interestingly, this character in the show was originally left out.
‘The Witcher: Blood Origin’ is an origin story
Blood Origin—the four-part prequel to The Witcher series — explains not only the origins of the witchers, who are superhuman warriors made to rid the world of the monsters that threaten humanity, but also the creation of their world through a catastrophic event known as the Conjunction of the Spheres.
In the show, we follow elf Éile, played by Sophia Brown, a former warrior who has become a bard, as she gets involved in the politics of the empire. Éile and a group of outcasts must work together to protect their people, first from their own leaders and then from a threat from another world that those leaders accidentally let loose in their lust for power.
Since Blood Origin is the story of The Witcher’s world before any humans (or witchers) existed, there are technically no human characters—demonstrating how well-established the series as a whole is.
The character of Jaskier was originally left out
While Geralt of Rivia (Henry Cavill) does not appear in Blood Origin, one of the highlights of the miniseries is the appearance of Jaskier the bard, a character from The Witcher, who is tasked with learning the forgotten story of Éile and her companions, and bringing it back to the present day.
At the start of the series, Jaskier is again in a heap of trouble. A fight is raging around him, but time has stopped, and a mysterious character known as the Seanchai has come to greet him. The Seanchai, portrayed by Minnie Driver, is a story collector and world-hopper. She informs Jaskier that the story of seven great heroes is the only way to restore hope to the Elves and the Continent.
Despite his pivotal role in the series, the Blood Origin creators Lauren Hissrich and Declan de Barra did not originally plan to have Jaskier appear in the spin-off. Speaking to Express and other press, Lauren said, “We talked about it a lot, actually. The series was not initially conceived with the idea of this framing device. And I think we may have even been against it for a while.”
The series needed something familiar for fans
Eventually, Lauren and Declan realized Jaskier could serve as an excellent gateway into The Witcher franchise for fans who had yet to experience the harrowing realm of The Continent. The creators changed their minds about including Jaskier because the series needed something familiar for fans, and it needed a new song.
Lauren explained: “But what we hope, and want, is that Blood Origin appeals not only to The Witcher audiences but to brand new audiences. If you’re coming in, especially as a new viewer, you kind of need to know where you’re landing.”
Jaskier’s contribution to the success of The Witcher led the producers to realize he would be a natural fit for the spinoff. Not only did fans like him right away in the first season, but he also fits perfectly with the theme of this new, revealing prequel.
