Tag: The Witcher

Posted on in News

FX’s ‘Shōgun’ Adds ‘Lord Of The Rings’ Director Charlotte Brändström

The Ronin can confirm that Swedish-French television director Charlotte Brändström has joined the FX samurai series Shōgun. She recently worked on Amazon’s Lord of The Rings series, Netflix’s The Witcher, Outlander, Jupiter’s Legacy, and The Man In The High Castle.

FX has hired Hiroyuki Sanada (Westworld, John Wick 4, The Last Samurai), British actor Cosmo Jarvis, and Anna Sawai (F9: The Fast Saga) as the leads of Shōgun.

Shōgun is set in feudal Japan. It charts the collision of two ambitious men from different worlds and a mysterious female samurai: John Blackthorne (Jarvis), a risk-taking English sailor who ends up shipwrecked in Japan, a land whose unfamiliar culture will ultimately redefine him; Lord Toranaga (Sanada), a shrewd, powerful daimyo, at odds with his own dangerous, political rivals; and Lady Mariko (Sawai), a woman with invaluable skills but dishonorable family ties who must prove her value and allegiance.

The new project currently shooting in Vancouver was written by Justin Marks and Rachel Kondo, which is based on the novel by author James Clavell. It had been adapted for American television back in 1980 and starred legendary Japanese actor Toshiro Mifune (Yojimbo, Seven Samurai) as Lord Yoshii Toranaga. 

Other actors on the show consist of Tadanobu Asano, Fumi Nikaido, Tokuma Nishioka, Takehiro Hira, Ako, Shinnosuke Abe, Yasunari Takeshima, Hiroto Kanai, Toshi Toda, Hiro Kanagawa, Néstor Carbonell, Yuki Kura, Tommy Bastow, Moeka Hoshi, Yoriko Doguchi, and Yuka Kouri.

We also exclusively reported the series would have Reprisal’s Jonathan van Tulleken on the directing team.

Posted on in Television News

‘The Witcher: Blood Origin’ Series Adds Michelle Yeoh As Nomadic Sword-Elf Scían

Netflix is moving forward with a second series set within the fantasy world of The Witcher, as they’re assembling a cast for their prequel The Witcher: Blood Origin. Their flagship series starring Henry Cavill (Man of Steel, Mission: Impossible – Fallout) has wrapped on Season 2 in the United Kingdom.

Set 1,200 years before the world of The Witcher, Blood Origin will tell the story of 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.

The streaming giant has officially announced today that action star Michelle Yeoh has nabbed a role in Blood Origin, revealing she’ll play an elf. Yeoh’s recent credits include Star Trek Discovery, Marco Polo, Last Christmas, Crazy Rich Asians, Dr. Karina Mogue in James Cameron’s Avatar sequels, Karen Gillan’s action flick Gunpodwer Milkshake, and Marvel’s upcoming Asian-led superhero blockbuster Shang-Chi & The Legend of The Ten Rings (will be released on September 3).

The Witcher: Blood Origin has cast Michelle Yeoh as Scían. The very last of her nomadic tribe of sword-elves, she is an artist with the blade, on a deadly quest that will change the fate of the Continent.

Irish actor Laurence O’Fuarain (Game of Thrones, Vikings) had recently joined the series in the role of Fjall. Jodie Turner-Smith (Without Remorse) was going to star as well before her reported exit.

The original series is based on the novels by Polish fantasy author Andrzej Sapkowski that was eventually turned into the internationally popular video game franchise from CD Projekt Red. Netflix is also developing an 10-episode anime series based on their new game release Cyberpunk 2077 that will be titled Cyberpunk: Edgerunners and seems like only a matter of a time before a live-action project is announced.

SOURCE: NETFLIX

Posted on in Television News

Jodie Turner-Smith Exits Netflix’s Prequel Series ‘The Witcher: Blood Origin’

Netflix is looking to expand The Witcher franchise as the flagship series starring Henry Cavill recently wrapped filming on Season 2. The streaming giant is assembling a cast for their spinoff series The Witcher: Blood Origin, a prequel that takes place many years before the adventures of Cavill’s Geralt of Rivia.

Set 1,200 years before the world of The Witcher, Blood Origin will tell the story of 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.

Originally, Netflix had cast rising star Jodie Turner-Smith, who will be seen later this month in Michael B. Jordan’s upcoming Amazon action flick Without Remorse, in a prime lead role of Eile. Scheduling issues has led to Jodie exiting the fantasy project, according to a report from Deadline. A new actress hasn’t been named at this time but the warrior role will indeed be recast.

Irish actor Laurence O’Fuarain (Game of Thrones, Vikings) had recently joined the series in the role of Fjall.

The original series is based on the novels by Polish fantasy author Andrzej Sapkowski that was eventually turned into the internationally popular video game franchise from CD Projekt Red. Netflix is also developing an 10-episode anime series based on their new game release Cyberpunk 2077 that will be titled Cyberpunk: Edgerunners and seems like only a matter of a time before a live-action project is announced.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in Television News

‘The Witcher: Blood Origin’ Adds ‘Vikings’ & ‘Game of Thrones’ Actor Laurence O’Fuarain In The Lead Role of Fjall

It looks like Jodie Turner-Smith (Without Remorse) will have some company in Netflix’s prequel/spinoff series The Witcher: Blood Origin. A new casting report from Deadline states that Irish actor Laurence O’Fuarain has been placed in the leading role of Fjall.

They also provided a character breakdown.

Born into a clan of warriors sworn to protect a King, Fjall carries a deep scar within, the death of a loved one who fell in battle trying to save him. A scar that won’t let him settle, or make peace with himself or the world around him. In his quest for redemption, Fjall will find himself fighting beside the most unlikely of allies as he carves a path of vengeance across a continent in turmoil.

The main series is currently in it’s second season and is led by Henry Cavill as the iconic Witcher character Geralt of Rivia. Blood Origin has six episodes and takes place 1,200 years in the past.

Set 1,200 years before the world of The Witcher, Blood Origin will tell the story of 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.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in Television News

Jodie Turner-Smith To Play Éile In Prequel Series ‘The Witcher: Blood Origin’

Deadline is reporting that Nightflyers and Without Remorse actress Jodie Turner-Smith has been tapped for a lead role in The Witcher prequel series The Witcher: Blood Origin from streaming giant Netflix.

Declan de Barra is the show’s executive producer and showrunner.

Set in an elven world 1,200 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.

Turner-Smith will play 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. A grand reckoning on the continent forces her to return to the way of the blade in her quest for vengeance and redemption.

Jodie will be seen next in the Tom Clancy feature film adaptation Without Remorse opposite Michael B. Jordan, the film will focus on the journey of Jack Ryan cohort/Navy SEAL John Clark (Jordan) to become a field agent for the C.I.A. and the movie recently moved from Paramount Pictures to Amazon Prime Video to become a streaming release.

Netflix is currently shooting the second season of The Witcher and last year secured the film/television rights to Robert E. Howard’s Conan The Barbarian franchise allowing them to explore another adult-oriented sword and sorcery world.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in Television News

Netflix Halts UK Filming On ‘The Witcher’ Series Due To Four Positive COVID-19 Tests From Today

Despite a lockdown in the United Kingdom, film and television productions were allowed to keep going without much hindrance from the British government.

There is now a report from Deadline that filming has paused by Netflix after four people working on the fantasy series had tested positive for COVID-19 today. Filming on the Henry Cavill show had been taking place at Arborfield Studios which is near London, England.

Netflix has halted production in the UK on The Witcher following multiple positive COVID-19 cases, we can reveal. The four positive cases are from today, we have confirmed, and Netflix will carry out an isolated round of testing of everyone involved in the show. Those impacted have been isolated and are not among lead cast, we hear.

This would be the second time that filming has been disrupted by positive COVID-19 tests.

Given the increase of COVID cases in the UK and the lockdown, it seems odd that productions are being allowed to keep going and this just another example that even being extremely careful the amount of people on set just makes it easier for people to get exposed to an airborne virus.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in Television News

Live-Action ‘Assassin’s Creed’ Series In The Works At Netflix

Today, Netflix announced formally they’ll be teaming up with Ubisoft Film & Television to develop a live-action series for the streaming service based on the popular and long running video game franchise. They are now currently seeking a showrunner and a cast will likely be assembled once that search is over.

The latest installment of the video game titled Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla will explore the era of the Vikings.

A feature film starring Michael Fassbender was released back in 2016 by 20th Century Fox which flopped at the box office earning $240.7 million globally on a budget of $125 million.

ASSASSIN’S CREED – Cal Lynch travels back in time to 15th-century Spain through a revolutionary technology that unlocks the genetic memories contained in his DNA. There, he lives out the experiences of Aguilar de Nerha, a distant relative who’s also a member of the Assassins, a secret society that fights to protect free will from the power-hungry Templar Order. Transformed by the past, Cal begins to gain the knowledge and physical skills necessary to battle the oppressive organization in the present.

Ubisoft had also been developing a feature film based on their pandemic video game IP The Division at Netflix from director David Leitch (Deadpool 2, Atomic Blonde, John Wick) with Jake Gyllenhaal and Jessica Chastain attached to star. However, there hasn’t been any concrete updates in ages.

Assassin’s Creed seemingly would fit alongside other live-action series connected to video games such as their upcoming Resident Evil series and The Witcher (fantasy novels turned into popular video games) series which is heading into Season 2.

SOURCE: NETFLIX

Posted on in Television News

Netflix Announces New Series ‘The Witcher: Blood Origins’ – Prequel Takes Place 1200 Years In The Past

Today, Netflix took to Twitter to announce a new prequel series spinoff set in the world of The Witcher. The prequel titled The Witcher: Blood Origins from Declan de Barra and Lauren Schmidt Hissrich will focus on the first Witcher taking place 1200 years in the past. 

The fantasy series is based on the novels turned video game franchise. 

The Witcher starring Henry Cavill as the infamous Geralt of Rivia is currently in the middle of filming Season 2 (expected to resume filming in the United Kingdom next month). 

SOURCE: NETFLIX

Posted on in Television News

‘Cyberpunk 2077’ 10-Episode Anime Series Coming To Netflix In 2022 Titled ‘Cyberpunk: Edgerunners’

Yesterday, Netflix officially announced they’ve teamed with video game developer CD Projekt Red and Japanese animation studio Trigger Studio for a new animated series titled Cyberpunk: Edgerunners. The new series will be directly set within the universe of their upcoming video game Cyberpunk 2077.

The futuristic video game set in the fictional Night City mixes RPG and first-person-shooter elements. It also takes a massive amount of visual cues from the R-rated comic book film Dredd. 

Here is the official press release for the upcoming anime series. 

Netflix, CD Projekt Red, and Studio Trigger announce an all new original anime series CYBERPUNK: EDGERUNNERS set in the same universe as the upcoming game, Cyberpunk 2077. The series will premiere in 2022.

CYBERPUNK: EDGERUNNERS tells a standalone, 10-episode story about a street kid trying to survive in a technology and body modification-obsessed city of the future. Having everything to lose, he chooses to stay alive by becoming an edgerunner—a mercenary outlaw also known as a cyberpunk.

CD PROJEKT RED, the company behind the Cyberpunk 2077 video game, is producing the series, with a creative team formed of talent from The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, and Cyberpunk 2077. The team at CD PROJEKT RED has been working on this new series since 2018. 

Acclaimed Japan-based animation company, Studio Trigger, will serve as the animation studio on the series and bring the world of Cyberpunk to life with their signature, vibrant style. Hiroyuki Imaishi (Gurren Lagann, Kill la Kill, Promare) will direct the series along with assistant director Masahiko Otsuka (Gurren Lagann, Promare), creative director Hiromi Wakabayashi (Kill la Kill) , character designer Yoh Yoshinari (Little Witch Academia, BNA: Brand New Animal) and Yuto Kaneko (Little Witch Academia), and the adapted screenplay by Yoshiki Usa (SSSS.GRIDMAN, Promare) and Masahiko Otsuka (Gurren Lagann, Kill la Kill, Promare). The original score will be composed by Akira Yamaoka (Silent Hill series).

This isn’t the first CD Projekt Red project Netflix has adapted as they turned their mature fantasy game The Witcher into a series starring Henry Cavill.

They’ve also included a teaser poster for Cyberpunk: Edgerunners. 

As mentioned before it will drop sometime in 2022. 

SOURCE: NETFLIX