By Netflix has waited until almost the last moment to reveal that fan-favorite The Witcher character Jaskier, portrayed by Joey Batey, will appear in the upcoming prequel show The Witcher: Blood Origin, although followers of Redanian Intelligence will have learned this more than a year ago. Jaskier is not the only pivotal Witcher character to debut in Blood Origin, however.
We have known since the beginning that Wild Hunt leader Eredin will make an appearance, and we have speculated that elven prophet Ithlinne will appear as well.
In a recent interview, Blood Origin showrunner Declan de Barra and The Witcher architect Lauren Hissrich finally confirmed the latter’s appearance while also talking about the former. What’s even more interesting is that de Barra confirms the appearance of a third Witcher legend in the prequel series, one we were not expecting: Avallac’h.
When asked about what ties the main Witcher show to Blood Origin in an interview with Screenrant, de Baraa said: “Especially with Avallach and Eredin, painting them from their baby stages, when they’re still quite innocent, and they haven’t been corrupted yet, and they become these multi-layered dark creatures in the games and the books and the [main Witcher show].”
Avallac’h
For those who have played The Witcher III: Wild Hunt, you may remember Avallac’h as the mysterious elf wearing a golden mask who ends up being one of the Aen Elle, the extra-dimensional elves who want to capture Ciri. Avallac’h claims that he wishes to guide and help Ciri, but he has his own motives.
Readers of Sapkowski’s novels will remember his memorable first appearance in a cavern in Tower of the Swallow, and later his appearance at the world of the Aen Elle in The Lady of the Lake. Needless to say, Avallac’h is an important “endgame” character for the Witcher series who happens to belong in the time period explored in Blood Origin, and so it makes perfect that he will make his first appearance there.
Of course, your next question must be this one: who has been cast as Avallach? His casting hasn’t been officially announced and we haven’t found him out either, so we don’t know. It’s possible we have seen a glimpse of him in the trailer, though. Zach Wyatt‘s Syndril being a scientist and a “Da Vinci”-type character does somewhat resemble some of Avallac’s traits.
It is more likely, however, that Avallac’h is played by someone else.
Ithlinne
UPDATE: We now know that he legendary prophet and sage Ithlinne Aegli aep Aevenien will be portrayed by Ella Schrey-Yeats. Her credits include His Dark Materials and Silent Witness.
Watchers of the main Witcher series will remember a recurring prophecy, first revealed in the show during one of Ciri’s magical trances. This prophecy is what makes Ciri the most dangerous person on the Continent in the main timeline, and so fans have always been eager to learn more about the powerful elven sorceress who made this prophecy: Ithlinne.
It was over a year ago that we reported Blood Origin had cast Claire Cooper in the role of Aevenin. In the deepest Witcher lore, Aevenien is known as Ithlinne’s mother, and short of one missing “E”, that seemed to be a perfect match. That led us to speculate that Ithlinne would have a role in Blood Origin, but now it’s confirmed.
“Lauren was very interested in a proof-of-concept of Ithlinne,” said de Barra in the interview with Screenrant. He then asks Lauren to elaborate.
“Ithlinne’s prophecy is all over the Witcher series, but it’s often talked about as this kind of folkloric thing. And so, even though we are told that we should believe it… If the people in the universe themselves don’t believe it, why should I, the viewer, believe it and how is it going to impact Ciri? We go back, we meet Ithlinne as a young woman, and we watch her prophecize, and then we watch that come true with our own eyes. And, to me, that will lend so much credence to what we are going to watch Ciri go through in the main series.”
Eredin
Last but not least, Blood Origin is confirmed to introduce a younger Eredin who will be portrayed by Jacob Collins-Levy. This Eredin has not yet been corrupted, so we will be meeting him as an ambitious and dutiful commander in the Cintran army.
It seems very likely that the limited series will eventually show his transformation into the Wild Hunt phantom we know and love (or love to hate), given the following tweet from The Witcher showrunner Lauren Hissrich.
In the embedded tweet, Hissrich speaks of Voleth Meir (VM) whose family, the elven riders in skeletal black armor who are known as the Wild Hunt, have been “sent away” from the Continent against their will. The showrunner then promised that more of that will be explored in Blood Origin, and that seems like confirmation that the event that “sends away” Eredin and his group will feature in the show.
The more we hear about it, the more Blood Origin appears to be crucial to the future of The Witcher universe and its lore. Fortunately, we don’t have to wait much longer to watch it, as the four-part series is set to release on Netflix on December 25.
