Netflix to release "Rats of the Borderlands" movie simultaneously with the fourth season of "The Witcher"

The long-suffering spin-off of "The Witcher" will still reach viewers, and sooner than expected.

According to What’s on Netflix, the company plans to release a full-length film in the universe of "The Witcher" simultaneously with the fourth season of the main show. The project, titled The Rats: A Witcher Tale, will tell about the gang "Rats of the Borderlands" before they met Ciri.

The film will premiere on October 30, 2025 — on the same day, all eight new episodes of "The Witcher" will be released. This is an atypical approach for Netflix, and sources see it as an attempt to reduce reputational risks.

Filming began back in 2023 in South Africa, but was completed ahead of schedule: instead of the planned six months, the work took only two. Inside the studio, the project was called problematic, and after the failure of the series "The Witcher: Blood Origin", Netflix management considered abandoning the material. Among the alternatives, the reworking of the footage into flashbacks for the fourth season and the release in the format of a special episode were also discussed. In the end, the latter option was chosen.

According to What’s on Netflix, Mairzee Almas ("The Sandman") directed the film, and Hayley Hall, who worked on several episodes of "The Witcher", wrote the script. Showrunner Lauren Hissrich and producer Tomek Baginski are also involved in the production.

The cast includes Ben Radcliffe (Giselher), Christelle Elwin (Mistle), Fabian McCallum (Kayleigh), Aggy K. Adams (Iskra), Juliette Alexandra (Reef) and Connor Crawford (Asse).

Earlier, the portal Redanian Intelligence reported that the spin-off about the Rats gang would be released closer to the end of the year. However, as it turned out, the release will take place earlier.