The Witcher anime spin-off takes place during the Netflix show's first season, and it’s already been quietly referenced
Nov. 15, 2023Sirens of the Deep is very tied to the main series
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The Witcher’snew animated film Sirens of the Deeptakes place at a pivotal time in Geralt of Rivia’s story. Based on Andrzej Sapkowski’s short story ‘A Little Sacrifice’, it tells the story of the monster hunter being drafted in to help with a conflict between humans and merpeople.
It’s part of Sapkowski’s second short story collection ‘Sword of Destiny’, which is considered the second part of his Witcher series. Within that, ‘A Little Sacrifice’ takes place around 1244 onThe Witcher timeline, which canonically is soon after Geralt and Yennefer meet in episode five.
This storyline does introduce a romance element, even if it is one-sided, so it will be interesting to see how this enriches the relationship dynamic between Geralt and Yen in the first season. However, as the opening episodes of The Witcher run across multiple timelines, it’s only at the beginning of season 2 when they all meet and the main story begins. The anime spin-off takes place around 20 years prior to that.
Not only is the story linked in terms of timelines, but it’s also been referenced in the Netflix show as well. InThe Witcher season 3, Ciri sings a ballad based on the short story, which you can actually listen to in full onYouTube. “The Prince did sit aside the sea,” the song begins. “Blushing with his Siren, at lengths did they try to agree who’d forfeit their environ.”
This film will park our first return to the franchise ahead ofmeeting our new GeraltinThe Witcher season 4. In the meantime, check out our guides to thebest Netflix showsand thebest Netflix moviesto watch right now.
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I’m the Deputy Entertainment Editor here at GamesRadar+, covering TV and film for the Total Film and SFX sections online. I previously worked as a Senior Showbiz Reporter and SEO TV reporter at Express Online for three years. I’ve also written for The Resident magazines and Amateur Photographer, before specializing in entertainment.
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