All you need to know about The Witcher: Blood Origin and its Waterford connections
Declan DeBarra, Waterford, Netflix, The Witcher
Starting as a series of fantasy books by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski, franchise revolves around the exploits of beast hunter Geralt of Rivia, a supernaturally-gifted human referred to as a 'witcher', and Ciri, a princess who defies her status as a political pawn to become a 'witcher' in-training.
Making the jump from short stories in sci-fi magazines, to books and smaller-scale adaptations in Sapkowski's native Poland, the series has garnered international attention after several book translations, a trilogy of videogame adaptations that have sold 50 million combined copies, and, most recently, a smash-hit Netflix streaming series, starring Henry Cavill and Freya Allan.
A much-anticipated series two has been held up by injuries and the pandemic.
A prequel series developed for Netflix by director Lauren Schmidt Hissrich, set 1200 years before Geralt's exploits to further flesh out the canon for new fans.
The press blurb expands on this idea: "Set in an elven world 1200 years before the world of The Witcher, Blood Origin will tell a story lost to time - the creation of the first prototype Witcher, and the events that lead to the pivotal “conjunction of the spheres,” when the worlds of monsters, men, and elves merged to become one."
It's part of a wider series of related stories for the Netflix platform, which is also set to include , an animated film.
Executive producer and showrunner Declan de Barra (pictured, top) is a Déise man, and is working with Schmidt Hissrich, having written an episode of the main series, as well as singing on its soundtrack.
He has form with the genre: he's previously written on horror series The Originals and Marvel-universe series Iron Fist, and has experience writing for kids' telly under the watch of Aardman and CBBC.
Outside of writing, he's a musician, having operated between Ireland and Australia after emigrating there in 1989, later singing with metal band Non-Intentional Lifeform.
The band, signed to genre-major label Roadrunner Records, criss-crossed Australia several times in support of names like KISS, Marilyn Manson and Korn, and opened for the likes of Deftones and The Prodigy.
A major casting announcement occurred this week, as sought-after actor Jodie-Turner Smith (True Blood, The Newness, Nightflyers) has signed on for the show, the latest role in a busy year of filming and releases, including playing the role of Anne Boleyn in the upcoming Channel 5 drama of the same name.
She portrays Éile, "an elite warrior blessed with the voice of a goddess, who has left her clan and position as Queen's guardian to follow her heart as a nomadic musician", brought back into the fray of combat as events transpire.
Still in filming, and slated for release in 2021, though there's no word of a release date. Filming has been held up because of the pandemic, several subsequent positive Covid tests among cast and crew, and an on-set physical injury to leading man Henry Cavill, who signalled he was on the mend earlier this month on Instagram.
