Fans of The Witcher will have to wait until December for season 2 of the Netflix series. Now that the timelines have converged, fans are definitely in for a treat with The Witcher Season 2. However, the wait is long. Luckily, that's not the only story in the world of The Continent. The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf, the animated movie that tells the origin story of Vesemir, Geralt's mentor, premiered on Netflix on August 23rd.
Did it live up to the hype and the popularity of the books, games, and especially the Netflix series? Was it an exciting addition to The Witcher world, or did The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf disappoint fans? Did the animated format fit the story being told? Some fans might be wondering if these questions can be answered. Could The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf succeed without Geralt, Yennefer, Ciri, and all the characters that fans love from season 1 of The Witcher?
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Fans solely of the Netflix series have not met Vesemir extensively yet, though fans of the books and games are probably looking forward to seeing him. Therefore, fans of the show only would be forgiven for wondering if the protagonist of this story is as compelling as Geralt, Yennefer, and Ciri. The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf features some characters who are known to fans, such as Filavandrel, who Geralt and Jaskier ran into during season 1 of The Witcher. Therefore, fans solely of the Netflix series are not completely without any familiar faces.
Those behind the scenes are also familiar to fans of The Witcher, with Lauren Schmidt Hissrich and Beau Demayo lending their talents to the movie. The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf, therefore, will be brought to life by some of the same people as the Netflix series. This behind-the-scenes talent is definitely in its favor. If the popularity of season 1 of The Witcher is anything to go by, these creative people know what they're doing. Then, it would make sense for fans to be excited by The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf. But what is the story like?
The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf seems like it is a pretty typical origin story for Geralt's mentor Vesemir. Yet nothing is ever as it seems on the Continent. There are complications that come along. Still, fans get to know Vesemir on a deep level, just as they got to know Geralt. This knowledge of Vesemir only makes viewers root for him more and sympathize with the struggles he faces. Since this movie tells Vesemir's origin story, it also gives fans insight into how Witchers are created. This only makes the Netflix series and Geralt's story more compelling. There seems to be, at first glance, a relationship similar to Geralt and Yennefer brewing in this story. One of the other characters is Tetra Gilcrest, a powerful sorceress who seeks to make sure magic is not misused on The Continent. The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf stands on its own, however, and the relationship is not without its twists and turns.
Luckily for fans, there are promising signs for this story. The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf follows Vesemir, who seems to be a different kind of Witcher and character than Geralt. At least, he is in the beginning. Time changes him, but fans get to see it happen. The fact that fans watch Vesemir's journey from the beginning increases their sympathy for the protagonist. Just as Geralt has Vesemir, Vesemir has a mentor too. His name is Deglan, and he claims Vesemir through the law of surprise. Deglan is different enough from both Vesemir and Geralt to stand out. He is an original character created for the movie, so it definitely makes sense that he is able to differentiate himself from the other Witchers. There's also Tetra, who definitely differentiates herself from Yennefer.
So did The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf live up to the hype? Will it be as popular as the Netflix series it's a spinoff from? So far, it's too soon to tell. The animated film is intriguing and will captivate fans of The Witcher and perhaps even others. It is an exciting addition to The Witcher world, one that will hopefully delight fans as much as the Netflix series. As far as if the animated format fits the story, just ask any anime fan. Some anime stories deal with darker topics yet are still animated. So if it works for those stories, why not The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf?
The animated film is certainly still a dark story, and does not shy away from its darkness in the slightest. As of writing this, The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf is in the top 10 on Netflix, though it is #9. If it becomes even more popular, then it might just reach the hype and popularity of the Netflix series. Right now, though, it seems like it's only somewhat popular, not as much as season 1 of The Witcher was.
Of course, not every fan of The Witcher and The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf will agree with this assessment of the latter. Some might feel there is no way it can live up to the Netflix series. Especially being a movie, and animated. Or that the movie is already popular enough to be worth all the hype. That's fine, opinions will differ. Yet the movie is exciting. And fans of the Witcher world, in general, have every reason to be captivated by the story. It might just live up to the hype in the end, especially with writers familiar to fans working on it. And even if it doesn't reach the extreme popularity of the Netflix series, fans who watch it will probably enjoy it. And the animated style is a nice change.
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