What is The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf about?

The Witcher won’t return for its second season until the end of the year, but Netflix does have an original film set in the same universe to tide fans over. In fact, the streamer is taking viewers back to a time before Geralt’s in The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf.

Our new witcher in the forefront will be Vesemir, a cocky monster slayer who will one day become Geralt’s mentor. Considering season 2 will delve into the silver-haired witcher’s time training at Kaer Morhen, it’s fitting that we’ll be learning about the process in this anime prequel film.

Fair warning, it’s grim. Though that’s pretty typical of the Continent where monsters roam free and the only thing standing between them and devouring or destroying everything in their path are witchers and magic-wielders.

Vesemir may be primarily concerned with coin, but he’ll soon find that some jobs outweigh their pay out. Here’s what we know about The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf.

The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf synopsis

The official synopsis via Netflix:

"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."

In Vesemir’s eyes, being poisoned, killed, resurrected, and then pushed past his limits to become a witcher is better than the lot fate had originally dealt him. Also, after all of that, he has a position in life that will always ensure he be paid his worth.

Coin, however, maybe his reason to throw himself into danger, but it can’t be the only thing that sustains him. Not when the world grows darker and its monsters grow hungrier. He’ll learn that in his latest mission, paired with a sorceress named Tetra, to stop whatever has been terrorizing a town. The threat won’t be like anything Vesemir has ever faced before.

The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf premieres Monday, August 23 on Netflix.

Watch the trailer below: