Netflix could be pressing ahead with another Witcher spin-off to go along with Nightmare of the Wolf and Blood Origin, according to a Swedish actor who may have accidentally spilled the beans.
You might remember Dolph Lundgren as Ivan Drago from Rocky 4 (and also Creed 2). He was also He-Man in the 1987 film Masters of the Universe, and he did a metric tonne of direct-to-video action films throughout the '90s and 2000s. Most recently he was Svengeance in Minions: The Rise of Gru and he'll be in both The Expendables 4 and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. Speaking to Swedish outlet Aftonbladet, Lundgren mostly discussed battling lung cancer over the past few years and even having tumors removed in 2020. However, he says he's feeling "better than in five years" following treatment and that he's currently filming in South Africa. Then he casually mentioned Netflix and "The Witcher."
Lundgren didn't provide any details, but Collider (via Eurogamer) suspects that the show might not be Witcher Season 4, but actually a spin-off about the Rats. In the novels, the Rats are a group of young Nilfgaardian thieves that show up in the third book, Time of Contempt. That just happens to be the same book that Netflix's Season 3 of The Witcher will be based on.
The spin-off would be a prequel, according to Collider, and since the Rats are generally young and Lundgren is in his 60s, speculation is that he'll play the role of bounty hunter Leo Bonhart. On the hunt for the Rats, Bonhart would be the spin-off's main antagonist, but he might also appear in Season 3 of The Witcher to introduce his character.
All this is just speculation for now, however. We'll find out if the Rats and Lundgren will be in Season 3 of The Witcher when part one airs on Netflix on June 29. Part two will come a month later on July 27.
It's not just Netflix's Witcher getting spin-offs. CD Projekt Red has confirmed that The Witcher is getting several game spin-offs too, although it sounds like Project Sirius has suffered a severe setback. Workers at The Molasses Flood, the developer working on Project Sirius, have reported layoffs just months after an initial build of the game was scrapped. This could all hint at a troubled development and things not working out at CDPR's newest studio.
Things are likewise not working out with Henry Cavill, who will be departing The Witcher after season three. Showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich said Cavill's departure presented her with a difficult choice, but she didn't want to end the show, so Hunger Games star Liam Hemsworth will become Geralt of Rivia starting in season four.