The Witcher’s Jaskier is returning for The Witcher: Blood Origin despite thousands of years separating the shows. The first live-action The Witcher spinoff, Blood Origin is being described as a four-part event series that will take viewers back to a world before the Conjunction of the Spheres. Although Blood Origin is based on pieces of The Witcher’s lore, it will be mainly an original story following mostly new characters such as Michelle Yeoh’s Scian. Still, Blood Origin will have direct ties to The Witcher.
Blood Origin will take place 1,200 years before the events of The Witcher. As such, it will be set in the “Elven golden era”, that is, a world before the arrival of humans and other creatures. Though the first Witcher only came to be 300 years before Geralt of Rivia according to the Witcher novels, Blood Origin will reveal the creation of the first prototype Witcher in what can be considered a significant Witcher canon change.
How The Witcher’s Jaskier Can Be In Blood Origin
Jaskier will be in The Witcher: Blood Origin, yet the character will be in the present-day timeline. Jaskier will not be involved in the main events of the series, as those will take place 1,200 years before Jaskier was even born. Instead, according to the newest The Witcher: Blood Origin trailer, Jaskier will help a present-day elf, Seanchai, “sing a story back to life” with his songs. Therefore, Seanchai will most likely tell the story of Blood Origin to Jaskier so that the bard can write songs about it. That is how Blood Origin will connect with The Witcher’s timeline.
Before the latest The Witcher: Blood Origin trailer, many had theorized that Jaskier’s return in the Witcher spinoff series would involve some sort of reveal about Jaskier’s age. In The Witcher season 1, which followed three different chronologies of events that spanned 53 years, Jaskier doesn’t seem to age a day comparing his first and final appearances on the show. That led to many theories that Jaskier could be immortal or that he aged much slower than other humans, a theory that gained more track with Jaskier’s return in Blood Origin. However, Jaskier will likely only appear in present-day scenes.
Making Jaskier A Witcher Constant Could Save It From Its Geralt Problem
Crafting a The Witcher spinoff set 1,200 years before the events of the main series is tricky, especially considering that The Witcher season 2 was already criticized for changes like Yennefer losing her magic or Eskel dying with just one episode. At the same time, with no Geralt or other Witchers involved, it can be difficult for Blood Origin to sell itself as a The Witcher story for casual audiences. Names like Henry Cavill’s Geralt or Anya Chalotra’s Yennefer have become the face of The Witcher, yet they would simply not work in a distant past spinoff. Jaskier as bard recalling the story, however, works.
Any The Witcher spinoff following characters other than Geralt of Rivia would be challenging in terms of marketing. That challenge is now something even The Witcher will have to deal with, as Henry Cavill will not return as Geralt after The Witcher season 3. Granted, Geralt will be recast with Liam Hemsworth, who can be a great Geralt, but the change will be felt regardless. Henry Cavill’s exit from The Witcher right as Netflix tries to create a Witcher universe poses a difficult mission for the franchise, which is why having other recurring characters like Jaskier in The Witcher: Blood Origin is so important.