Geralt of Rivia is definitely the grumpy face of The Witcher universe, which includes a book series, canon-divergent video games, and a Netflix franchise with one series in process, a prequel in development, and an anime movie arriving this month. The latter project revolves around the origin story of Vesemir, who acted as Geralt’s mentor (and will be played in The Witcher Season 2 by Kim Bodnia of mischievous Killing Eve fame). And as this trailer shows, monster-hunters are not born, they are created, and the process doesn’t look too pleasant.
Well, Vesemir got over it (the “it” being how orphaned children are recruited and subjected to a trial) in order to be transformed into a witcher, and of course, we’re getting another flash of a bathtub since that method of post-hunt relaxation is canon. This trailer shows Vesemir get into the swing of his profession (which is hated by humanity, and that’s why Jaskier wrote his horribly catchy song) while undertaking a mission with a witch. There’s also a climactic-type battle that includes Vesemir with several other witchers, so we’ll see exactly who they’re fighting when the movie releases. From the film’s synopsis:
The world of The Witcher expands in this anime origin story: Before Geralt, there was his mentor Vesemir — a swashbuckling young witcher who escaped a life of poverty to slay monsters for coin. But when a strange new monster begins terrorizing a politically-fraught kingdom, Vesemir finds himself on a frightening adventure that forces him to confront the demons of his past
The Witcher showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich co-executives produces and co-wrote the film, along with Beau de Mayo. Han Kwang II directs, and Theo James voices Vesemir. Given that the show’s audience is a cross-platform one already, this anime film should quench plenty of fandom thirst before Season 2’s December 17 premiere date.
Netflix’s The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf will stream on August 23.