Update, July 9, 2021:
The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf will arrive on August 23, 2021 and we have our first look at the move about Vesemir, Geralt’s father figure.
Original post:
The Witcher world is expanding on Netflix. The streaming service is capitalizing on the current pandemonium over the fantasy series by delivering a spin-off anime film based in the same universe. According to io9, The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf is currently being developed to explore a “powerful new threat facing the Continent.” It’s yet another reason for viewers to continue tossing coins at Netflix. And a film is the perfect way to keep fans’ attention during the long wait for The Witcher season two in 2021.
The Witcher showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich and writer Beau DeMayo will also be in charge of this movie, so fans can expect the same quality and overall vision to translate over. Hissrich revealed on Twitter that Nightmare of the Wolf has been in the works for over a year at this point. It’s a testament to Netflix’s confidence that The Witcher‘s already established fandom and curious newcomers would love the series.
It’s a big day here in #TheWitcher world — and I’ve been keeping this one secret for over a year! https://t.co/9Rp1ftDO0p
— Lauren S. Hissrich (@LHissrich) January 22, 2020
Nightmare of the Wolf will be created by Studio Mir, the same animation company responsible for the excellent Voltron: Legendary Defender, The Legend of Korra, and Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts. This takes care of the aesthetic appeal because all of those shows look awesome. Netflix certainly won’t cut corners or skim on dollars to make sure that their latest big hit continues to rake in viewers.
There’s no word on if any characters from The Witcher’s first season will appear in animated form nor if this film will pull in any additional characters from the books. This spin-off seems to be a unique, standalone adventure so familiar faces probably won’t appear. It’s a chance to perhaps explore this world through the eyes of another witcher or even another magical person hoping to defeat a dark enemy.
It’s also not clear yet when this story takes place and how it lines up with the events over the course of The Witcher season one. Timelines can get pretty wonky but there will surely be details dropping as the film gets closer to completion and its release.
In the meantime, fans can keep the Witcher fun going by listening Jaskier’s inescapable tune “Toss a Coin” right now or blasting the full soundtrack when it drops on January 24. Netflix has also dedicated their current “Behind the Scenes” podcast season to The Witcher for all the informational podcast lovers. The premise of the podcast is similar to other official series-based podcasts—writers, producers, and crew sit down to talk about different elements of the show.
So far, The Witcher podcast has broken down its three main characters—Geralt, Yennefer, and Cirilla—in terms of their mindsets, personalities, backstories, and challenges with bringing them to life. It’s interesting, nerdy, and yet another way to stay in the Witcher world for now.
Between Nightmare of the Wolf, soundtracks, podcast breakdowns, and more Witcher, it looks like Netflix’s valley of plenty is resting in this franchise.
Featured Image: Netflix
Originally published on January 22, 2020.