As 2019 came to a close, two great shows made their debuts on competing streaming platforms: The Witcher on Netflix and The Mandalorian on Disney+. And while gamers may have been more interested to see Geralt's adventures played out, the new Star Wars series has proven to be just as great a show.
The two shows are actually quite similar, with both The Witcher and The Mandalorian featuring heroes who must work for a living while struggling to stay alive. They are so similar, in fact, that one fan took the logical next step and merged both of them together.
Popular fandom artist BossLogic (the same artist who showed what Geralt would look like in Mortal Kombat 11) posted an image on Twitter of the amalgamized character, wearing the Mandalorian's helmet and Geralt's armor. He also appears to be carrying one of Geralt's swords and instead of his iconic Witcher medallion, he has one shaped like the mythosaur skull sigil seen on some Mandalorian armor. He also has the Child (or "Baby Yoda," as the internet prefers to call him) on his back, carrying what seems to be Dandelion/Jaskier's lute. Fans of both shows seem taken by the image, as it currently has over 8,000 likes, as well as plenty of comments and retweets.
Of course, it only seems fitting that both characters be merged together, seeing as they have so much in common. Both Geralt and the Mandalorian have to work for a living, getting hired to hunt down various people and monsters. Both are members of dying races/cultures, complete with a code of ethics they follow. And both characters have a duty to look after and protect a young child with strong magical abilities. The fantasy and space Western settings are just superficial differences. That, and The Witcher has a really catchy theme song that even Elon Musk is obsessed with.
Both shows are also incredibly popular and have proven to be major successes for their respective platforms. The Witcher was Netflix's second most popular show of 2019, right behind Stranger Things 3, and has gotten fans interested in picking up the books and video games The Witcher is based on. Meanwhile, The Mandalorian proved to be a major deciding factor for many people to sign up for Disney+ in the first place, as it became more popular than shows that premiered on already popular streaming platforms, like Netflix's The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, The Umbrella Academy, and Amazon Prime Video's Good Omens. Unfortunately for Disney+, this had a negative knock-on effect, in that once the season was over many people canceled their subscriptions.
A second season of The Witcher is scheduled for release on Netflix in 2021. A second season of The Mandalorian is scheduled for late 2020 on Disney+.
Source: BossLogic/Twitter