Following an exciting teaser, Netflix has dropped the first full trailer for The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf, the anime tie-in to the widely successful live-action adaptation.
The trailer teases violence, powerful magic, a familiar face and a cast of new characters as Nightmare of the Wolf explores both Vesemir's youth and the Continent's past. It teases the first depiction of an era when the School of the Wolf was at its height, but under threat from the folk who surrounded Kaer Morhen and saw the witchers as mutants and freaks. "The only thing keeping men from hunting us," Deglan says, as images of an angry mob appears, "are the scarier beasts we keep away."
The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf was announced in January 2020. It was speculated then that Netflix would release the anime tie-in in the run-up to Season 2 of The Witcher, which is set to introduce both Vesemir and Kaer Morhen. Actor Kim Bodnia will play Vesemir, Geralt of Rivia's mentor, in the live-action series and lends his voice to the upcoming anime. Bodnia is not the only talent appearing in both projects. He joins actor Graham MacTavish, who is set to play Sigismund Djikstra in The Witcher Season 2 and whose voice will appear in Nightmare of the Wolf as Vesemir's mentor, Deglan-- a character created specifically for Netflix's adaptation.
In an interview with CBR, writer Beau DeMayo recently teased what fans can expect to see with regards to Kaer Morhen's past. He stated, "There were more witchers. And you could make witchers during his time." He added, " I also think during Vesemir's time as a witcher, there was more of [an] intersection between the court and witchers. In my mind, at least."
The events of Nightmare of the Wolf take place long before the events of The Witcher, in a period of time that has been mentioned and hinted at but never fully explored in either Andrzej Sapkowski's Witcher novels or CD Projekt Red's video game series. The novels introduce Vesemir in Blood of Elves, which sees Geralt of Rivia and Ciri wintering at the witcher mountain fortress.
Unlike the powerful stronghold depicted in the trailer, Kaer Morhen is a ruin in the novels, with just a handful of witchers from the School of the Wolf remaining. These are Lambert, Eskel, Coen and, of course, Vesemir. Netflix's The Witcher will introduce a new character, Hemrik, in Season 2. He will appear alongside the other witchers of Kaer Morhen in an as of yet unknown capacity.
At WitcherCon, Netflix announced that The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf will be released on Aug. 23, while Season 2 of The Witcher will premiere on Dec. 17.
Source: Netflix