Netflix has unveiled the official release date for their prequel series The Witcher: Blood Origin. The Witcher franchise has a storied history, beginning as a series of fantasy novels and short stories by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski that were released between 1986 and 2013, beginning to be translated into English in 2007. The series was adapted into a Polish film and television series, as well as a franchise of wildly popular video games before Netflix acquired the property and adapted it into a streaming series starring Henry Cavill as the title character, the monster hunter Geralt of Rivia. So far, the series has premiered two seasons with The Witcher season 3 currently in production.
The Witcher franchise has branched out in several different areas on Netflix as well, beginning with the animated prequel film The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf. However, a brand new prequel is on the way, this time in live-action. The series, subtitled Blood Origin, will take place 1200 years before The Witcher and follow the creation of the very first Witcher and the lives of ancient elves, leading up to a major historical event known as the Conjunction of the Spheres. The series will star Sophia Brown, Laurence O'Fuarain, Lenny Henry, Mirren Mack, Nathaniel Curtis, Dylan Moran, and Everything Everywhere All At Once star Michelle Yeoh.
Today at their global fan event TUDUM, Netflix shared the official release date for The Witcher: Blood Origin. The show will now officially be debuting on Christmas Day, December 25. This is the same day that Netflix is releasing Matilda: The Musical, and just two days after the debut of Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, so there will be some strong competition for streaming viewers that week.
Why is The Witcher: Blood Origin Coming to Netflix on Christmas?
It may seem counter-intuitive for Netflix to release any project on Christmas day. Considering the fact that many families across the globe will be busy on that day with celebrations, at first glance it seems like a recipe for low viewership. However, of late that has proven not to be the case, and many Christmas week or Christmas day movies have performed well both theatrically and on streaming, including titles as wide-ranging as Django Unchained, Les Misérables, and the MCU megahit Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Christmas is likewise an auspicious release date for Netflix itself, as they have previously used the holiday to launch Bridgerton season 1, which became an enormous hit for the platform. This is also a time period that has proven to work well for the Witcher franchise, as season 1 of the original series debuted on December 20, 2019. Clearly, audiences that are fathered for the holiday are in search of solid entertainment options while they are with their families, so this may be a great boon for The Witcher: Blood Origin.
Source: Netflix