In the popular Netflix series The Witcher, Henry Cavill stars as Geralt of Rivia, a powerful bounty hunter known throughout the land for his ability to fight and defeat monsters of every kind. But the origin story of the infamous Witcher predates Geralt for several centuries — and Jodie Turner-Smith is at the heart of it.
The Witcher show, based on the popular fantasy novels penned by Andrzej Sapkowski, follows the epic adventures of Geralt as he travels across The Continent for hire fighting monsters. He meets two young women on his journey, Yennefer of Vengerberg (Anya Chalotra) and Princess Ciri (Freya Allan), and ragtag group fights against a powerful magical empire.
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As interesting as The Witcher is, fans of the books that inspired the Netflix series know that there's still so much more to this fantasy world to be explored. The streamer has heard the fandom's cries and is now developing a prequel series to explain exactly how The Continent became so frayed over time. The Witcher: Blood Origin, will reportedly take place more than 1,000 years before Geralt hits the scene, focusing on the creation of the world's first Witcher and why they became necessary after years of magical creatures existing peacefully side by side.
Turner-Smith (Queen & Slim) has officially been cast as the lead character in the developing prequel, and her character is crucial to the canon of the fantasy series. Variety confirms that the British actress is set to play Éile, a born warrior who forsakes her fierce heritage to pursue a life as a musician but finds herself on a path to violent revenge. This will be Turner-Smith's second lead role on a television show; she recently starred in the SyFy series Nightflyer and will play Anne Boleyn in an upcoming mini-series.
The Witcher: Blood Origin will see several writers from the 2019 show joining the team as showrunners, and Sapkowski himself will also provide creative consultation for the series.
Move over, Geralt — there's a new Witcher in town.