It is a choice that betrays a frustrating lack of trust in both the material or the audience. Instead, Blood Origin insists on opening with a character from the parent series, presumably the most affordable actor with the freest schedule, positioning the miniseries as a story told to traveling bard Jaskier (Joey Batey) by an immortal entity (Minnie Driver).ĭespite only appearing in five minutes of the show at the very beginning, Jaskier is all over the recent marketing. Blood Origin seemingly doesn’t trust the Witcher brand itself to carry the show on its own terms. This is obvious even considering the show’s framing device. There’s an undeniable laziness and cynicism to Blood Origin. It is a big investment for Netflix, and it assumes that audiences are drawn to the world of The Witcher as much as its characters. It unfolds 1,200 years before the events of The Witcher, depicting key historical events within the fictional universe: the creation of the first Witcher and the “Conjunction of the Spheres” that brought humans and monsters to the show’s world. As the title implies, it offers an origin story for the larger franchise. However, The Witcher: Blood Origin feels like a clear escalation in this attempt at franchise-building, even beyond giving the franchise its own stylized ident.īlood Origin is a four-episode live-action miniseries. The series has been tremendously successful for Netflix and allows the streaming service to plant its own flag in the arms race to find “ the next Game of Thrones.” The company has been eager to build on the success of The Witcher, even releasing a spinoff anime movie, Nightmare of the Wolf. However, the company has enjoyed greater success with The Witcher. ![]() It’s been similarly bullish on announcing sequels and spinoffs to The Gray Man. It did at least get an anime spinoff, Bright: Samurai Soul. ![]() ![]() That sequel languished in development hell but was only officially canceled in April 2022. The company famously announced plans for a sequel to its first blockbuster, Bright, in January 2018. Netflix has been eagerly looking for its own blockbuster franchise, to the point of willing it into existence when the data doesn’t seem to support it. This discussion and review contains light spoilers for The Witcher: Blood Origin, a four-part prequel miniseries to The Witcher premiering on Netflix on December 25.
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