Star Trek: Discovery's Michelle Yeoh cast in Netflix's upcoming live-action Witcher prequel

Netflix's upcoming live-action Witcher prequel, Blood Origin, has confirmed another new cast member, with Star Trek: Discovery's Michelle Yeoh now set to appear as sword-elf Scian.

The Witcher: Blood Origin is a new six-part series set 1,200 years before Netflix's Henry-Cavill-starring main Witcher show and will chart the creation of the prototype Witcher, as well as the events leading to the "pivotal" Conjunction of the Spheres - in which a collision of different realms brought monsters into the world.

Lauren S. Hissrich, showrunner on Netflix's mainline Witcher series, will executive produce Blood Origin, and Declan de Barra - who penned The Witcher Season 1's "Of Banquets, Bastards and Burials" episode - will serve as writer and showrunner on the prequel.

Michelle Yeoh (whose previous credits include Star Trek: Discovery and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and who'll star in Marvel's upcoming Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) will play sword-elf Scian, a character "whose deadly quest to retrieve a stolen sacred sword will lead her on a journey that will change the outcome of the Continent." She'll be joined by Laurence O'Fuarain in the role of Fjall, a warrior who finds himself fighting beside the most unlikely of allies as he carves a path of vengeance across a continent in turmoil."

Back in January, Netflix announced Jodie Turner-Smith (Queen & Slim, Nightflyers) had been cast as Éile - "a fierce warrior with the voice of a goddess" - but the actor has since departed the project due to scheduling conflicts.

Blood Origin is part of Netflix's currently three-pronged Witcher line-up, which will see the the main live-action series return for a second season in the hopefully not-too-distant future, along with an animated Witcher movie, Nightmare of the Wolf.