Who is Dolph Lundgren Playing in The Witcher Spinoff? Here's What We Know

While Season 3 of The Witcher, which will reportedly be the last with Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia, is now in post-production, Netflix is already planning another spin-off based on the universe created by Andrzej Sapkowski. In the new prequel, the action will take place not a thousand years in the past, but just some time before the main events of the original series.

Though many fans are skeptical about the new show, there is still one fact that excites everyone — Dolph Lundgren is said to take part in the project. Until recently, it was unclear what role the Rocky IV star will play, and now that we know the answer, it may surprise you.

First, some context about the new series, reportedly titled The Rats. Its filming has already begun in South Africa, and from what is known, it looks like the new show's plot will follow Sapkowski's books more closely than Blood Origin, but there will be significant deviations too.

The Rats are the gang of delinquents Ciri met at the end of Time of Contempt, and since Season 3 of The Witcher is also based on that book, we should expect to see them in the final episodes. Though Sapkowski is clearly playing with the Robin Hood trope of the good outlaw, the on-screen Rats are more of a critique of it, as they are criminals who rob and kill people for their own amusement.

When it was revealed that the new series would follow the Rats' story prior to the events of the book, fans assumed that Dolph Lundgren would play Leo Bonhart — the brutal, sadistic mercenary who preyed on Rats and Ciri. However, this isn't the case at all.

As it turns out, the actor will portray witcher Brehen, also known as the Cat of Iello, who has not met Ciri or the Rats. The character appears in Sapkowski's Season of Storms, where he swords with Geralt. It's still unclear how and why Brehen will meet the Rats in the new show, but given that rich men hate the gang, it's possible that the villainous witcher is hired by some of the nobility to eliminate the youngsters.

It's been reported that the new prequel is written by Haily Hall, The Witcher's writer, and some of the episodes will be directed by Mairzee Almas, with the original series' creator Lauren Schmidt Hissrich serving as executive producer once again. Although the show is already in production, no release date has been announced.