Believe it or not, it's now been over two years since The Witcher spin-off, The Rats, finished shooting. Since then, we've heard very little about the project, though no one seems overly bothered, seeing as Blood Origin was such a let-down.
Redanian Intelligence has shared an update today, explaining that their sources have said the show "behind the scenes was a disaster," "worse than Blood Origin," and that "everything went wrong."
You may recall reports that production on the series was paused two months into a six-month shoot, allegedly a result of Netflix executives deciding that it wasn't worth continuing after they'd seen footage from set.
2023's WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes did little to help matters, and the decision was made to release The Rats as a feature-length special called The Rats: A Witcher's Tale. Post-production on that was reportedly taking place when work started on The Witcher season 4, but the site has also heard that "Netflix [was] considering [chopping up] the footage and [serving] it as flashbacks in The Witcher Season 4."
With Netflix wrapping up The Witcher with its fourth and fifth seasons, it wouldn't be overly surprising if the streamer pulls the plug on The Rats altogether. The show has never been the Game of Thrones beater that the platform expected, and with Liam Hemsworth taking over from Henry Cavill, interest in the property has further waned.
Original plans called for The Rats to run from 6 - 8 episodes, exploring the origin story of the group that Ciri meets in The Witcher's season 3 finale.
"Six teenage thieves must rely on their criminal skills as they plan the biggest heist of their careers against the most dangerous crime ring in the kingdom," reads a previously released synopsis for The Rats.
The cast of the show was set to include Ben Radcliffe as Giselher, Christelle Elwin as Mistle, Fabian McCallum as Kayleigh, Aggy K. Adams as Iskra, Juliette Alexandra as Reef, Connor Crawford as Asse, Dolph Lundgren as Brehen, Sharlto Copley as Leo Bonhart, Deoudone Pretorius as Juniper, Morgan Jade Santo as Dulcie, Bianca Simone Mannie as Sonora, Carla Fonseca Mokgata as Orla, Litha Bam as Miss Skret, Stevel Marc as Lord Ridot, Aubrey Shelton as Barker, and Warren Masemola in an unknown role.
Haily Hall, who wrote multiple episodes of The Witcher during its first three seasons, was tapped to serve as showrunner with Mairzee Almas directing.
The Witcher season 4 is supposedly still scheduled for a 2025 release, but we've had no trailer and no confirmed premiere date. With that in mind, it seems likely Netflix plans to drop it with little notice or fanfare.
Stay tuned for updates on The Rats as we have them.