October 30 means fans can binge the entire fourth season of the live-action The Witcher on Netflix, but the bigger surprise is a full-length companion film: The Rats: A Witcher Tale, a deeper dive into the fantasy universe so many of us love from the games.

For years, it was known that Netflix planned a second Witcher spin-off in South Africa, centered on Ciri and the band of young outlaws she meets at the end of season three. We say “planned” because production shut down after only a few weeks and never resumed. Still, a substantial amount of footage was shot, which the streamer has now repurposed as a special TV movie — the kind you’re meant to watch only after finishing the new season.

Officially, Netflix says it isn’t “available” until you’ve watched the last eight episodes of the main series. In practice, I could hit play without issue — meaning an unsuspecting viewer could watch The Rats: A Witcher Tale before Liam Hemsworth’s fourth live-action season rather than after. Consider this your heads-up. Honestly, this special might have landed harder a few weeks earlier to build appetite for the fifth and final season.

A story focused on the young characters of The Witcher

So what is The Rats: A Witcher Tale about? Here’s the synopsis — warning, it’s a spoiler the size of the Bernabéu and Camp Nou combined: “The Rats: A Witcher Tale takes place just before the group crosses paths with Ciri at the end of season three. The special chronicles the group’s formation and the experiences that shape their worldview, revealing how they become targets of Leo Bonhart (Sharlto Copley), the bounty hunter who brutally murders them at the end of season four. Its central plot revolves around a daring heist at Dominik Houvenaghel’s brutal new fighting arena, with each Rat playing a crucial role in the plan, which quickly spirals out of control and leads to devastating consequences.”

Showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich says The Rats: A Witcher Story presents “a story about what’s happening to the younger generation in this world, who are just trying to survive while the Continent is ravaged by war.” Each Rat — Mistle (Christelle Elwin), Asse (Connor Crawford), Giselher (Ben Radcliffe), Iskra (Aggy K. Adams), Kayleigh (Fabian McCallum) and Reef (Juliette Alexandra) — has endured severe trauma after Emhyr’s (Bart Edwards) siege of the empire, yet they’ve survived by combining skills and forging an exceptionally strong bond — something fans will see across this 90-minute TV movie.

Another hook: Dolph Lundgren (Rocky IV) appears as Brehen, a rogue witcher from the School of the Cat. That’s all I can share for now. If you watch it, drop a comment. Who knows — if it clicks, Netflix might dust off a full spin-off. Still, the platform’s promotion for The Witcher’s return is questionable, especially given the spend and the contentious lead-actor change.

Source: 3DJuegos