The Witcher: Blood Originis one of Netflix’s biggest holiday releases. However, on the back of Henry Cavill leaving the main show, it seems like the prequel is already having a tough time, at least judging from its YouTube feedback.
In this new chapter, showrunners Declan de Barra and Lauren S. Hissrich aim to tellThe Witcherstory before the all-important Conjunction of Spheres cataclysm took place, around 12 centuries before Geralt of Rivia’s adventures.The Witcher: Blood Origin’s review embargo was lifted yesterday, and most of these impressions seem to highlight a lack of enoughWitcherlore that can convince fans to sign off on the 4-episode miniseries.
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Over on YouTube,The Witcher: Blood Originpreviews are facing the same kind of backlash that Amazon’sThe Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Powerdid before its release. The latestThe Witcher: Blood Origintrailer, uploaded on December 3, amassed 124,000 dislikes versus just 25,000 likes. The same goes for the first teaser posted on November 10, almost 2 weeks after Cavill announced he would leaveThe Witcher, with that video’s like-to-dislike ratio sitting at 41,000 versus 164,000.
It bears saying that thefirst teaser forThe Witcher: Blood Origin, which was actually the post-credits scene forThe Witcher season 2, still has 23,000 likes against 3,600 dislikes. Considering the first teaser was released long before Cavill’s departure,The Witcher: Blood Origin’s current reception shows the effect Cavill’s departure has had on the goodwill of some fans. YouTube notoriously disabled the dislike count on its videos in late 2021, but there are browser extensions, such as “Return YouTube Dislike,” that allow users to see these stats.
Meanwhile, Hissrich posted aWitcher: Blood Originpreview on her personal Instagram account (@laurenhissrich). As a result, the showrunner has responded to numerous negative comments about the series’ demise. She’s won over fans by keeping up the good spirit, despite discrepancies aboutThe Witcher’s faithfulness to the source material. Weeks beforeCavill quitThe Witcher, former writer Beau DeMayo said some of the show’s writers had no respect for Andrzej Sapkowski’s work, something that Hissrich vehemently denied by saying people shouldn’t believe everything they read or hear.
Granted, YouTube likes aren’t everything when judging any show or movie. Nevertheless, despite large support from many die-hard Tolkien fans, a big part of the fandom and even someLord of the Ringsactors have disapproved ofRings of Power, something that the other big fantasy series likeHouse of the Dragondid not have to deal with.
The Witcher: Blood Originwill be available on Netflix starting June 22, 2025.
