As our collective human journey progressed towards The Witcher: Blood Origin‘s release on Netflix, I keep joking that it would be nice to see Joey Batey’s Jaskier make an appearance. This didn’t seem likely at all to happen, given that the limited series is a prequel that occurs around 1,200 years before Geralt Rivia swashbuckled across the Continent while wearing leather pants. The time is always right for a banger, after all, but is time travel possible in this universe?
Not exactly, but as it turns out, the new Blood Origin trailer delivers The Bard (alongside Minnie Driver’s shapeshifting, apparently time-transcending Seanchaí character) in the closing moments:
No time travel appears to be happening for Jaskier, although Batey told EW that his character is “connective tissue” within the franchise. Further, it actually makes a ton of sense for Jaskier to surface in this trailer. That’s not only the case because, by nature, he’s a storyteller and can help shape the public perception, and Elves have long since gotten a bad rap since the rise of humans and monsters. Rather, Jaskier is actually part of the arguable problem that could use some correcting. The prequel’s story follows the Elven golden age, long before Elves were the subject of Jaskier’s tallest tale of all, about elves being evil and aggressive and beaten down by Geralt.
The tall-tale nature of Jaskier’s claims should been evident by his claim that “[a]nd they kicked in my teeth,” given that he was standing there singing with all of his teeth intact. Now, perhaps The Bard can now help set that record straight.
From the limited series’ synopsis:
Set in an elven world 1200 years before the time of Geralt, Yennefer, and Ciri, The Witcher: Blood Origin will tell a tale lost to history: the creation of the first prototype Witcher, and the events that led to the pivotal Conjunction of the Spheres, when the worlds of monsters, men, and elves merged to become one.
Once that task is complete, I wouldn’t mind seeing and hearing another rendition of “Burn Butcher Burn.” Batey’s voice can still bring the chills.
The Witcher: Blood Origin premieres on December 25.