Ciri in The Witcher season 3 – Picture: Netflix
While the third season of Netflix’s The Witcher was in production, the streamer quietly started the development of The Rats, a new prequel series centered on a group of teenage renegades, who will be introduced at the end of Season 3. Here’s what we know so far about the new upcoming spin-off.
The new series is created by The Witcher writer Haily Hall, who is also serving as showrunner. Shadow and Bone and The Sandman director Mairzee Almas is also attached to direct an unknown amount of episodes. The Witcher showrunner Lauren Hissrich and executive producer Tomek Baginski are also producing this series.
The Rats series hasn’t been officially announced by Netflix, but it has been common knowledge for many months now with cast and crew already actively filming on location. The initial information about the series was published by Redanian Intelligence back in November 2022. What’s on Netflix also has sources that stated the project was in development with it being internally called Riff Raff.
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What’s the plot of The Rats?
Artwork of The Rats by JustAnor
The plot of The Rats isn’t based on any book or storyline from The Witcher author Andrzej Sapkowski, but rather takes the characters and creates its own backstory for them before they meet Ciri at the end of The Witcher Season 3.
So far we only have a short logline:
“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.”
Who is cast in The Rats?
Cast Grid for Netflix’s The Rats series
The gang of teenage criminals called The Rats consists of Giselher, Mistle, Kayleigh, Iskra, Reef and Asse. They are played by Ben Radcliffe, Christelle Elwin, Fabian McCallum, Aggy K. Adams, Juliette Alexandra, and Connor Crawford respectively. All of them make their first appearance in The Witcher Season 3, reprising their roles here.
Additionally, 80s and 90s action star Dolph Lundgren has been cast as a ruthless rogue witcher from the School of the Cat called Brehen. Brehen briefly appears in Andrzej Sapkowski’s Season of Storms where he has a confrontation with Geralt of Rivia. In The Rats, Brehen’s role is unclear.
Other suspected cast includes Deoudone van der Merwe, Warren Masemola, Stevel Marc, Max Boast, and Daniela Norman.
What’s the production status of The Rats?
The Rats series is currently in production under the codename ‘Riff Raff’ in Cape Town, South Africa. Filming started there in late April and is expected to conclude in September 2023.
How many episodes will The Rats have?
The number of episodes in The Rats is currently unknown but it should be between 6 and 8.
What’s the Netflix release date for The Rats?
Netflix hasn’t announced the series itself yet, let alone its release date, but judging by its expected wrap date, a Summer 2024 release would be likely. The Witcher Season 3 was also wrapped in September 2022 and is releasing in Summer of 2023.