The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf anime release date, trailer and more

The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf
(Image credit: Netflix)

The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf, the anime spinoff of the hit Netflix fantasy drama, is ready to catch its own coin. A new trailer just dropped, previewing the prequel tale centering on Geralt's mentor Vesemir as a swashbuckling young witcher who escapes a life of poverty to slay monsters for coin. It's just the thing fans need as they await The Witcher season 2 this fall.

The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf comes from The Witcher team (Lauren S. Hissrich and Beau DeMayo) and Studio Mir, the studio behind Legend of Korra.

The anime film follows Vesemir on a frightening adventure that forces him to confront the demons of his past.

Here's everything you need to know about The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf.

The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf release date

In a press release, Netflix revealed that The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf premieres on August 23, 2021. 

The project has been in the works for a long time, as Hissrich revealed on Twitter, stating "It's a big day here in #TheWitcher world -- and I've been keeping this one secret for over a year!"

The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf trailer

Just a couple weeks before the film's premiere, Netflix released the official trailer for The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf. The video kicks off with Vesemir as a young trainee and the frightening way a Witcher is made. From there, the adult Vesemir is all about the money, money, money. Toss a coin (or a few hundred) if you want that monster vanquished.

Previously, Netflix dropped a teaser trailer that introduced the clever and coin-carrying Vesemir as a monster hunter who has a price. The clip shows off his knowledge of the blade, his fights with demons and a very powerful winged being controlled by ... "a friend of a friend."

The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf cast

Four members of the The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf cast have been revealed, as follows, and we've got art of their characters below

  • Vesemir as voiced by Theo James
  • Tetra as voiced by Lara Pulver
  • Deglan as voiced by Graham McTavish
  • Lady Zerbst as voiced by Mary McDonnell

Theo James is no stranger to this sort of project, having voiced Hector on Netflix's Castlevania, and Rek'yr in The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance. Graham McTavish has even more voice-work to his name, including Dracula on the Castlevania series, and dozens of video game voicing appearances. 

Lara Pulver's best known for her roles in Sherlock and Spooks, but has done voice work as Princess Mirana in Dota: Dragon's Blood.

McDonnell (Battlestar Galactica, Major Crimes) has a long history of acting credits to her name, but this is her first voice acting role.

The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf plot

The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf is all about introducing Vesemir, who would later mentor Geralt. In this series, we find a younger Vesemir, who — according to the plot summary from Netflix — "who escaped a life of poverty to slay monsters for coin." That said, things get wilder when "a strange new monster begins terrorizing a politically fraught kingdom," and we're not sure if that's the winged beast we see in the below trailer. 

Vesemir, the description continues, "finds himself on a frightening adventure that forces him to confront the demons of his past."

Kelly Woo
Streaming Editor

Kelly is the streaming channel editor for Tom’s Guide, so basically, she watches TV for a living. Previously, she was a freelance entertainment writer for Yahoo, Vulture, TV Guide and other outlets. When she’s not watching TV and movies for work, she’s watching them for fun, seeing live music, writing songs, knitting and gardening.