By It was late 2022 when we discovered that Netflix was developing a new Witcher spinoff centered around the teenage misfits called The Rats, telling their story before they meet Ciri in The Witcher Season 3. A year and a half later, it seems like Netflix has gone in Leo Bonhart’s footsteps regarding where the project is now.
The Rats may not be released as originally intended
The Rats, codenamed Riff Raff, was a show created by Witcher writer Haily Hall. She was also the showrunner of The Rats. As far as we know, it was supposed to be either 6 or 8 episodes. We even had a brief plot description:
“Six teenage thieves must rely on their criminal skills as they plan the biggest heist of their careers against the most dangerous crime ring in the kingdom.”
Filming for The Rats only lasted two months out of the planned six with The Sandman and Shadow & Bone director Mairzee Almas. Filming started in early May 2023 and ended late June of the same year. It was odd that it only lasted that short and we thought that it was rewritten to make for a shorter experience. Now we learn that it wasn’t exactly how things happened.
A few days ago we learned that The Rats only managed to film one or two episodes out of the intended six or eight. Upon seeing some early footage, we hear, Netflix decided not to pick up The Rats for a full season.
Another eyebrow-raising moment was Reef actor Juliette Alexandra’s CV that used to state: “Juliette will return to S4 of ‘The Witcher’ as one of the Rats, as well as in the spin off highlighting the backstory of these characters.” But recently the part about the prequel got removed and only Season 4 is mentioned.
So what will become of The Rats?
What we were told days ago was that some of the footage from The Rats will most likely end up in The Witcher Season 4 in the form of flashbacks for the Rats. This coincides with what casting director of the series said a year ago when The Rats was in production:
“I had a really lovely opportunity recently with a very special — almost standalone — episode of season four of The Witcher, which is exploring a completely new group of people. We found a boy called Connor Crawford and we were able to put him in this group of kids in The Witcher. The whole group is very exciting in terms of talent: Christelle Elwin, Juliette Alexandra, Ben Radcliffe. You meet the characters in season three and then they come into their own in season four.“
At the time we thought that this “almost standalone” episode of Season 4 and The Rats prequel were two completely separate things and not related to one another at all. Now, coupled with what we were told recently, it seems like they are actually the same thing and integrating footage from The Rats into Season 4 was already in the plans then.
The Rats as a film/special?
There is one particular inconistency about using footage from The Rats in Season 4, though. Netflix released the full list of Season 4 credits and Haily Hall, the writer and showrunner of The Rats, isn’t mentioned at all. We’re not privy to how these unique situations are handled in WGA, but one would think that if footage of Hall’s writing is used in Season 4, she would be credited.
Unless the plans have changed and Netflix does intend to release the existing footage of The Rats, but only as a special episode or a feature film. That would be one explanation why Haily Hall has no credit in Season 4. To add to that theory, we have Aggy K. Adams (Iskra), cinematographer Trevor Michael Brown and some other crew listing The Rats under the Feature Film category in their CVs, while others have it under TV.
Whatever happens, it really looks like The Rats won’t be released in their original intended form. Instead, either absorbed by The Witcher Season 4 or released as a special, perhaps shortly before Season 4.
The Rats starred Ben Radcliffe (Giselher), Christelle Elwin (Mistle), Fabian McCallum (Kayleigh), Aggy K. Adams (Iskra), Juliette Alexandra (Reef), Connor Crawford (Asse) as well as Dolph Lundgren (Brehen), Deoudone van der Merwe (Juniper), Morgan Santo (Dulcie), Stevel Marc (Lord Ridot) and more.
Bonus: we heard that Sirens of the Deeps is most likely the final Witcher spinoff at Netflix, meaning that children-oriented animated series is dead as well.
The Witcher Season 4 is has been out since October 30, 2025. Andrzej Sapkowski’s new Witcher book Crossroads of Ravens is available internationally since September 30, 2025. CD Projekt Red’s The Witcher 4 is now in full production.
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