The story of Geralt, Yennefer, and Ciri is only the beginning. Netflix is introducing the world to “Uncle Vesemir” in the first look at anime prequel film The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf. It will dig into the origins of the man who shaped our favourite monster hunter — and how the events that changed his life also changed the world around him.
Netflix shared the first look at Nightmare of the Wolf and Vesemir’s design during in-house fan event WitcherCon today, as well as the film’s official logline: “Before Geralt, there was Vesemir — a cocky young witcher who delights in slaying monsters for coin. When a dangerous new power rises on the Continent, Vesemir learns that some witchering jobs are about more than just money…”
Check out the teaser here!
Since Nightmare of the Wolf centres around Vesemir, the Witcher who trained and mentored Geralt of Rivia, the film will set the stage for events to come in the flagship series. No word yet whether Kim Bodnia, who plays Vesemir in season two of The Witcher, will also be voicing the character in this animated prequel.
Nightmare of the Wolf was developed by The Witcher showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich and writer Beau DeMayo with The Legend of Korra and Netflix’s Voltron: Legendary Defender animation company Studio Mir. In a previous interview, Hissrich said Nightmare of the Wolf is designed to explore “what it takes to become a Witcher, how Geralt became a Witcher, where his journey started, and who was important to him,” as seen through the eyes of Vesemir himself. It will also explore Vesemir’s connection to Geralt, a relationship that was teased in the first season of the live-action series and will be explored further in season two.
“Families are multi-generational. The things I teach my children, I learned from the generation ahead of me. When we meet Geralt in The Witcher he is a full adult, he’s 100 years old and he’s been living on his own for a very long time,” Hissrich said. “But you can’t help wondering how he learned the things he practices regularly and is going to teach Ciri.”
The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf debuts on Netflix August 23. The Witcher returns for season two on December 17.