A sharp-fanged Striga, Leshy that can drive nature against you, and a Kikimora with multiple legs, yet a group of teenagers are considered the most gruesome and threatening antagonists of The Witcher series. A group of teenagers that Netflix’s The Witcher fast-approaching spinoff will be exploring. Barring the warning of fans as the storyline featuring The Rats or the Salamandra is considered to be the most problematic of the lot, it has wrapped filming. Fans assumed, however, that the creators will present their story in a more digestible manner, but a major change in the name proves otherwise.

The Rats will be soft-launched in The Witcher Season 3. And Lauren Schmidt Hissrich could not have chosen a worse time to prove her loyalty to books. While fans are waiting with bated breaths to see how the creators at Netflix go about Ciri’s relationships with the Rats and as a Rat herself, the spinoff dedicated to their name has undergone plenty of changes. One that does not require you to squint or bat an eye is the shift in title from ‘The Rats‘ to ‘RiffRaff‘. Hopefully, this is not a spoiler.

Given that it is a spinoff of The Witcher, a lot of elements remain the same. And one of them is Haily Hall who wrote a few splendid episodes, namely Rare Species, Turn Your Back, and Reunion in Seasons 1,2, and 3 respectively. These episodes have a perfect balance of romance, drama, and of course, the omnipresent doom in The Witcher. If this is any indication, then The Rats or RiffRaff is in the right hands.

Barring the inevitable raise of eyebrows, when you have the series centered around riff-raffs, there is still hope for this spinoff. The upcoming spinoff, despite its gore tones, can use the various personalities of the organized criminal group as a source of divine intervention. Perhaps a Cahir may emerge.

It is important to note that RiffRaff will not be based on the books. The writers are hoping to strike lightning in a bottle as they come up with a fresh storyline. But if history, especially the Blood Origin chapter, has taught us anything, it is that fans are not particularly kind to The Witcher spinoffs.

Fans react to production development on The Witcher spinoff

Netflix has lately been depending on 90s stars to further amp up their top projects. The Witcher spinoff sees the same approach as it casts Dolph Lundgren. However, that was the last of the good news that came from the sets in South Africa. What was slated to be an eight-episode series has packed up filming in two months.

The Witcher: Blood Origin was also cut short. However, this was a decision taken during the postproduction. As for RiffRaf, it seems like the script was cut short. So short, that it might just release as a feature film. And this has fans asking once again, why is it needed?

Given how nothing about the Rats can strike as heroic, the determination to put out their story is definitely intriguing. A short blurb and the only semblance of the plot suggest that it is a prequel. And will follow them as they plan a large-scale heist across the Continent. The last time we checked, fans of the series fans were begging for Henry Cavill to stay back as Geralt and not a Money-Heist x The Witcher collaboration. But if it beats the odds, we would have another gem of a story set in the Continent.

What do you think about The Witcher spinoff being renamed RiffRaff? Let us know in the comments below.