Netflix's The Witcher: Blood Origin has been review-bombed by fans following the premiere of the limited series.
The Witcher: Blood Origin received a plethora of one-star reviews since its release on Netflix. While the miniseries holds a 38% average score on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer, Blood Origins sinks even lower with an 8% audience score. While there are many authentic reviews among the 2000+ -- reflecting the comments made by critics -- there are also many new accounts, seemingly created specifically to give a one-star review to the show. In the review section, these review-bombing accounts often leave comments about Henry Cavill's exit or the main series' deviation from Andrzej Sapkowski's novels.
Per the critics' consensus: "A shallow excavation of ancient lore from Andrzej Sapkowski's fantasy series, Blood Origin shares ancestral DNA with The Witcher but little of what makes the mothership series memorable." This is in line with early reviews of Blood Origin, with many critics agreeing that the series was both rushed and underwhelming. CBR's own review of Blood Origin said the series "deviates from the source material and is unable to offer much of substance or justify its existence, despite the best efforts of a talented cast."
The Witcher: Blood Origin Falls Flat With Critics and Fans
Set 1,200 years before the events of The Witcher, Netflix's Blood Origin depicts the creation of the first witcher and the events leading up to the Conjunction of the Spheres. In a recent interview, showrunner Declan de Barra stated that his goal with Blood Origin was to create a story worthy of Sapkowski's original novels. "It's wonderful and terrifying at the same time," he said, "because you want to pay homage to the books and the lore and satisfy all of those fans, but also you want to create a whole story that exists, that would be worthy of a Sapkowski book, that lives on television and is self-contained."
Blood Origins is not the first time that fans have expressed their frustrations with Netflix over its adaptation of The Witcher. In November, fans of the series started a petition to keep Cavill in the role of Geralt of Rivia after the star announced his departure from The Witcher after Season 3. Cavill did not provide a reason for his departure and will be replaced in the role of Geralt by Liam Hemsworth.
The Witcher has reportedly started development on both Season 4 and Season 5, which will be filmed back-to-back. After Cavill's announcement, fans similarly voiced their displeasure at this news by calling for Netflix to instead cancel The Witcher after Season 3 instead of replacing the lead actor. Details regarding Season 3 of The Witcher are scarce, though the next installment will reportedly adapt storylines and characters from Sapkowski's novel, Time of Contempt.
The Witcher Season 3 is set to be released in the summer of 2023. Blood Origin is now available to stream on Netflix.
Source: Rotten Tomatoes