The Witcher show on Netflix has drawn in a whole new fanbase. Originally a novel series penned by Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski, The Witcher became more widely known due to the adaptation into video games by the Polish studio CD Projekt Red, before becoming even more globally recognised following The Witcher adaptation for Netflix, starring bankable British actor Henry Cavill.
As viewers wait for Season 3 of The Witcher, which is due for summer 2023, it has been reported that a live-action spinoff of the show has gone into pre-production. The spinoff show focuses on a group of misfits known as The Rats (via Redanian Intelligence).
For those unaware The Rats are a group of Nilfgaardian misfits and they feature in the books as part of Ciri’s storyline since she joins their ranks for a period. According to Redanian Intelligence, The Rats will appear in upcoming seasons of the main Witcher series, and are set to debut in Season 3. Then as we wait for Season 4, Netflix is planning to drop the Rats spinoff show in the gap.
Since The Rats will be appearing in Season 3 in The Witcher we know already the cast members. If the actors continue in their roles for the spin-off we should expect to see Christelle Elwin (credits including Half Bad and Bloods) as Mistle. “Mistle is a member of The Rats, a gang of misfit teenagers who steal from the rich and give to themselves – and sometimes the poor. She is street hard, suspicious of everyone and out for revenge, until a chance meeting that will change everything,” ran the official description when Elwin was cast.
Meanwhile it’s reported that pre-production of The Rats is taking place in South Africa and that one of the main The Witcher screenwriters, Haily Hall, is showrunner of The Rats. The official title for the show is unknown as of yet but the working title for the spin-off is reportedly just Rats.
This isn’t the only live-action spin-off Witcher fans can expect. Blood Origin, starring Michelle Yeoh, is coming in December, while The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf, an anime focused on Vesemir, appeared last summer. But we will see the first live-action Witcher spin-off on screen soon.
