It’s been far too long since we’ve had some The Witcher content. While we’ll have to wait until December for Henry Cavill’s return, we have The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf to look forward to in the meantime.
Those hoping for more Geralt are out of luck here, but Netflix’s new anime movie is still set in the world of The Witcher and there’s more than one reason it’s essential viewing for fans.
What is The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf?
Shortly after the success of Netflix’s live-action The Witcher TV series, the streaming giant announced a string of spin-offs based on the popular novels.
One of these was an anime prequel about Geralt’s mentor and fellow witcher, Vesemir.
According to Netflix, Nightmare of the Wolf will expand the world of The Witcher by following a young (and hot) Vesemir who is described as “a swashbuckling young witcher who escaped a life of poverty to slay monsters for coin.”
“When a strange new monster begins terrorizing a politically-fraught kingdom, Vesemir finds himself on a frightening adventure that forces him to confront the demons of his past.”
The anime feature looks like to be an exciting new take on the franchise and it allowed the producers to up the action even further.
“This is stuff we would never, ever, be able to do in live-action,” producer Lauren Schmidt Hissrich said.
Will it tie into The Witcher TV series?
Yes. Nightmare of the Wolf is a prequel anime film set in the same world as Netflix’s The Witcher, so fans should consider it essential viewing prior to the new season.
It primarily serves to set up the backstory of Vesemir, who will be an important character in The Witcher’s new season.
We’ll also see Kaer Morhen, aka the home of the witchers’ guild, at its peak in Nightmare of the Wolf. When we see it in The Witcher’s second season, it’ll look a little different.
You can also expect to see a few new monsters in Nightmare of the Wolf that may also appear in The Witcher.
You can get a preview of all the witcher-y action to come in the new trailer.
Who’s the cast and studio behind Nightmare of the Wolf?
Nightmare of the Wolf is made by Studio Mir, an animation company based in South Korea. The studio has worked on notable projects like The Legend of Korra and Young Justice in the past.
The Witcher’s executive producer, Lauren Schmidt Hissrich, is also overseeing the anime feature, hence it ties in nicely with the Netflix series.
On the cast level, Vesemir will be played by Kim Bodnia in The Witcher, but his younger rendition in Nightmare of the Wolf is voiced by Theo James (Divergent).
Lara Pulver, Graham McTavish and Mary McDonnell make up the rest of the cast.
When can you watch The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf
There’s not long to go now until The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf hits streaming.
The anime film will be released on Netflix worldwide on Monday, August 23.
The Witcher’s second season also has a premiere date of December 17, 2021, and you can read more about that here.
If you weren’t already convinced I’ll leave you with the fact that, yes, you will see more witchers in bathtubs in Nightmare of the Wolf.
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