The Witcher: Blood Origin Trailer Ropes Joey Batey’s Jaskier Into the Prequel Fantasy Epic

The Witcher: Blood Origin trailer is here. At the Comic-Con Experience (CCXP) in Brazil, Netflix unveiled a full-length trailer for the upcoming spin-off prequel series, set in the historic days of the Continent, when the elven race was at its strongest. The biggest surprise, however, is the arrival of Joey Batey’s Jaskier, better known as Dandelion the bard, a key character in the mainline Henry Cavill-led The Witcher series, which takes place centuries later. One could argue there’s an element of time travel, but then again, Jaskier never aged across the Netflix series, which raises a few questions.

Set in the elven Golden Era, 1,200 years before Geralt of Rivia’s world, The Witcher: Blood Origin trailer opens with some exposition dump, detailing a band of seven outcasts, who came together to topple an unstoppable empire. “I’ve taken control of the entire Continent,” Chief Sage Balor (Lenny Henry) says, giving rise to a dysfunctional kingdom, brimming with violence. “Faced with chaos, the people will always choose order. No matter the cost.” While the previous teaser simply focused on the leads Elven warrior Scian (Michelle Yeoh), the vengeful brute Fjall (Laurence O’Fuarain), and travelling musician Éile (Sophia Brown), this new trailer offers a first look at the remaining group of strangers, who have come together for a noble, yet mystical cause.

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In addition to them, we’ve got Francesca Mills as warrior dwarf Meldof, Huw Novelli as the mohawk-donning Callan “Brother Death,” and a pair of celestial sage siblings Syndril and Zacaré, played by Zach Wyatt and Lizzie Annis, respectively. “I swore I’d kill you if we ever crossed paths again,” Éile warns Fjall, who both hail from warring clans, and struggle to trust each other. However, The Witcher: Blood Origin trailer seems to indicate that the trust slowly flourishes into romance, as the pair work in unison “by the blade,” forming a near-unstoppable force. We’re then introduced to a monster, of sorts, presumably summoned by Balor and his troops, which is then sent out to hunt down our heroes.

“We merge the creature’s power with one of you,” Syndril tells his squad as means to stop it from destroying the world, which possibly aligns with the creation of the first prototype — as revealed in previous reports. The four-part series leads into the Conjunction of Spheres event, which fused the monster, human, and elven realms into one, completely dethroning the elves from their powerful position. The end of The Witcher: Blood Origin trailer sees Seanchaí (Minnie Driver) introducing an extremely weary Jaskier (Joey Batey). “You’re a bard. I am a storyteller. I need you to sing a story back to life,” she says.

The Witcher: Blood Origin was initially greenlit with six episodes, but was cut down in the editing room, as it helped the story flow better. “[The cutdown] happened organically, shaping into four episodes from all the footage we shot. Optimum story flow,” co-creator Declan de Barra told Collider. “I wanted it to be a punch in the face so that you can’t take your eyes off it.”

All four episodes of The Witcher: Blood Origin will be out on Christmas Day, December 25, on Netflix.