Well over a year after Season 1 of The Witcher first introduced Netflix subscribers to the Continent and the characters who live there, the world of The Witcher is returning in just a matter of weeks with the Nightmare of the Wolf prequel. The anime movie will center not on Henry Cavill's Geralt, but on a witcher who hasn't appeared in the flesh on the live-action show yet: Vesemir, voiced by Sanditon's Theo James. The full trailer for The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf reveals Vesemir will face off against monsters that may be even worse than what Geralt faced in Season 1, a growing political divide, and a character that Witcher viewers will recognize. And another witcher in a bathtub!
The trailer may only run for two minutes, but that's plenty of time to show off just how well-suited the anime format can be to the mythology and monsters of the Witcher universe. It also provides a look at not just the kind of challenges that Vesemir will face as an adult witcher, but the process of creating witchers from human children at Kaer Morhen in the years before the witcher stronghold was reduced to what it is by the time of The Witcher Season 2. Plus, the reveal of elf king Filavandrel (who will return in Season 2 of The Witcher) provides a familiar face for fans of the live-action series, even if his circumstances talking to Vesemir seemingly couldn't be much more different than his encounter with Geralt and Jaskier.
The trailer also gives a closer look at the dynamic that will exist between Vesemir and the sorceress Tetra Gilcrest, voiced by Lara Pulver of Sherlock and The Alienist fame. It already looks like sparks will fly between them, although what kind of sparks exactly and whether or not they'll catch flame won't be clear until Nightmare of the Wolf releases on August 23, bringing plenty of new monsters along for the ride. All things considered, however, it's not the monsters or the dynamic between Vesemir and Tetra that most intrigues me about the trailer, but rather than attitudes regarding witchers.
There will evidently be a suggestion that the witchers could be staging the very attacks that Vesemir is called upon to stop, and Filavandrel's bitter comment about witchers not laboring for more than just coin supports the idea that it's only a matter of time before the mighty witchers are rendered not-so-mighty when outnumbered by angry humans. There's certainly what looks like an angry mob, with Outlander vet Graham McTavish's Deglan saying that "the only thing keeping them from hunting us are the scarier beasts we keep away."
Considering that the Continent isn't exactly overrun with witchers by the time of The Witcher, contrasted with what could pass for a witcher army in the Nightmare of the Wolf trailer, it's probably safe to say that something is going to go pretty wrong down the line! Fortunately, the wait to see the origin story of Vesemir is almost over. The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf premieres on August 23, 2021 on Netflix. Season 2 of The Witcher is on the way before the end of the year as well, but the anime movie should give fans plenty to enjoy before the new episodes start releasing again.
