‘Nightmare of the Wolf’, ‘The Witcher’ anime film, is set to be so brilliant that it’s going to overshadow the flagship show.
Netflix’s ‘The Witcher’ has progressively built a massive fan following, even among those who are unfamiliar with the games and the books from which it is inspired. Netflix consequently renewed the show for another season, announced a spin-off series ’The Witcher: Blood Origin’ along with an anime film. Out of all these offerings, ‘Nightmare of the Wolf’, the anime, is going to stand out the most and will overtake the show.
HIGHLIGHTS —
- What is the anime film about?
- What makes the film unique?
- Who will play the lead?
Enter: Vesemir, Geralt’s Mentor
‘Nightmare of the Wolf’ will explore the back story of Vesemir, the Witcher who made Geralt capable of becoming the White Wolf, as disclosed by Henry Cavill’s Geralt in ‘The Witcher’ Season 1. He also revealed that Vesemir gave him the name ‘Geralt’. But ‘Nightmare of the Wolf’ will mostly not feature Geralt. Instead, it will dive into Vesemir’s journey as a young Witcher in the Continent.
Vesemir was honed at School of the Wolf housed at the fortress Kaer Morhen. “The Law of Surprise” which was a monumental plot point in ‘The Witcher’ Season 1 also plays a crucial role in Vesemir’s story. Netflix describes the anime as,
“Long before mentoring Geralt, Vesemir begins his own journey as a witcher after the mysterious Deglan claims him through the Law of Surprise”.
However, Vesemir’s journey is not the easiest as he endures an attack on Kaer Morhen, becoming the sole survivor. This will be taken up in the anime because, as per Netflix, ‘Nightmare of the Wolf’ will feature “a powerful new threat facing the Continent”. The story of the film has not been addressed anywhere in the Witcher literature before. Thus, it will give the makers immense creative liberty in charting the course of the 1 hour, 21 minute-long anime.
Set to Be More Successful
‘Nightmare of the Wolf’ could succeed over all the other Witcher projects as it is an anime, a creative form with immense scope of experimentation. While the prequel series ‘The Witcher: Blood Origin’ will have its limitation as a live-action venture, the anime will have full creative freedom. This has been affirmed by Beau DeMayo, the writer who is crafting the screenplay for the film being created by Studio Mir in collaboration with Netflix.
“There’s a grace and an art form to animation, and especially anime, that allows a different flavour”, DeMayo explained in a conversation with comicbook.com. Speaking of the script, the writer mentioned that “certain things” in the story will enjoy an upper hand in terms of things “that only animation can do” which makes her the most excited for fans’ reactions.
“I think that’s what’s the most exciting thing that I’m waiting for fans to see. Is that, when you see the anime, it’s not just the events, it’s what Studio Mir has been capable of pulling off. It’s what our partners in the anime division at Netflix have been able to pull off. It is something — it is a story we could not have told in live-action in any way, shape or form. At least not with an incredible burden on production, I will say that.”
‘Nightmare of the Wolf’ is clearly staged to overtake both the shows, ‘The Witcher’ Season 2 as well as ‘The Witcher: Blood Origin’. The animated film will feel, in DeMayo’s words, like “its own world”. Unlike in live-action, the action scenes in the anime will not appear “goofy” or “fake to the human eye”. Nevertheless, the writer has stressed that the film is going to focus on the story, besides the action sequences. “(It is) so important that it not just be an action-fest, that there be a story there. That there be emotion there that’s really sincere. A lot of people underrate animation, especially anime sometimes, for being able to deliver emotion, really poignant emotion”, Beau explained.
In addition, anime has a massive following all over the world. By releasing an animated ‘The Witcher’ film, Netflix could tap into a whole new audience. All the odds are in ‘Nightmare of the Wolf’s’ favour of being more successful as an anime than the other shows.
The Lead Wolf
Divergent star Theo James gave his husky voice as a young Vesemir in ‘The Witcher’ Season 1. On the other hand, ‘Killing Eve’ star Kim Bodnia will play Vesemir in ‘The Witcher’ Season 2. Both Theo and Bodnia could end up voicing the anime film as the timeline of the film is yet unclear. Despite this, one can’t help but be excited about ‘Nightmare of The Wolf’ that is bound to overtake ‘The Witcher’ show.
How much are you looking forward to ‘The Witcher’ anime film? Let us know in the comments.
