British actress and model Jodie Turner-Smith has been tapped for a leading role in Netflix’s The Witcher: Blood Origin, the streaming service just announced.
The Witcher: Blood Origin is a six-part, live-action limited series that will serve as a prequel set “in an elven world 1200 years before the world of The Witcher,” according to Deadline. The longline from Netflix says the spinoff will chronicle the origin story of the first 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.”
The Witcher is an adaptation of the eponymous fantasy saga novels by Andrzej Sapkowski. Starring Henry Cavill as lead, the eight-episode season of the original show aired on Netflix in December of 2019.
Turner-Smith will portray Éile, “an elite warrior blessed with the voice of a goddess,” Deadline says. The character’s story revolves around her leaving her clan to become a nomadic musician while a “grand reckoning on the continent forces her to return to the way of the blade in her quest for vengeance and redemption.”
Most recently, the actress held a leading role in Queen & Slim, starring opposite Daniel Kaluuya. The 2019 road crime drama film, written by Lena Waite and directed by Melina Matsouskas, followed the love journey of the titular characters underscored by America’s contentious race relations. Turner-Smith is also known for her roles in Nightflyers, Jett and The Last Ship.
Declan de Barra will be the showrunner and executive producer of the prequel while Lauren Schmidt Hissrich, showrunner of The Witcher, will also executive produce. As of late, a premiere date has yet to be announced but industry insiders are eyeing 2022. The second season of the franchise’s original installment will return to Netflix sometime this year.