Netflix’s The Witcher is expanding with a movie titled The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf, and instead of focusing on Geralt of Rivia, it will follow a very important character in his story – here’s everything you need to know about The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf. The Witcher is a series of novels and short stories by Polish author Andrej Sapkowski that has become widely popular, in big part thanks to its video game adaptations. After being adapted into a TV show and a movie in Poland, an English-language adaptation finally arrived in 2019 thanks to Netflix.
Simply titled The Witcher, the series followed Geralt of Rivia (Henry Cavill), Yennefer of Vengerberg (Anya Chalotra), and Ciri (Freya Allan), whose stories took place in different places and points in time, with their paths converging at the end of season 1. Although this caused some confusion among viewers, it didn’t stop the show from being a success, and it’s now getting a movie and prequel TV series to further expand this universe. First is The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf, an animated movie that will leave Geralt aside for a while to focus on another (very important) character: Vesemir.
The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf was announced to be in development in January 2020 and unlike the main TV series, the movie is animated and in anime style to give it a different vibe. With Geralt not included and the movie not being live-action like the series, how will it connect to the main series and to the Geralt the audience knows? Here’s everything you need to know about The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf.
The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf Release Date
Fans of Netflix’s The Witcher are currently waiting patiently for season 2 to arrive, but in the meantime, they will get to visit another time within the Witcher universe. The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf will be available to stream on August 23, in time for viewers to learn all they need about Vesemir ahead of his proper debut in The Witcher in season 2, where he will be played by Kim Bodnia (Killing Eve).
The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf Story Details
As mentioned above, The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf won’t focus on Geralt as the main series does and will instead tell the story of his mentor, Vesemir. The movie, then, tells Vesemir’s origin story, from “a swashbuckling young witcher who escaped a life of poverty” to a monster slayer and one of the most respected witchers out there. Vesemir will then find himself on a frightening adventure that forces him to confront the demons of his past just as a strange new monster begins to terrorize the kingdom.
How Nightmare of the Wolf Connects to The Witcher Series
At this point, it’s unknown if The Witcher and Nightmare of the Wolf are part of the same universe/timeline, but either way, the movie has connections to the main series. As previously mentioned, Vesemir will make his proper debut in The Witcher in season 2, as Geralt and Ciri arrive at Kaer Morhen so that the young princess can begin her training, so Nightmare of the Wolf will serve as a primer and introduction to the character. Once season 2 of The Witcher comes out, viewers will know if the events in The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf affect the main series in some way, but at least it will help viewers (especially those not familiar with the books and video games) get acquainted with one of the most important witchers.