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The Witcher was already an expansive franchise when it came to Netflix, but the streamer has since ramped up the amount of content fans will see from this world. The second season of the original series isn’t the only thing to look forward to in the coming months. A prequel dubbed The Witcher: Blood Origin is currently in pre-production. Netflix is also bringing fans an anime film, The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf, as early as August.

When The Witcher Season 1 premiered back in 2019, Henry Cavill quickly became the face of the franchise — at least, when it came to Netflix’s contributions. Will the star show up in other projects, like The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf?

What is ‘The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf’ about?

While The Witcher follows Geralt of Rivia (Henry Cavill), The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf will see Geralt’s mentor, Vesemir, taking on the lead role. Set years before Geralt’s story, the film chronicles Vesemir’s experiences as a young witcher. According to the Netflix synopsis, he’ll start out slaying monsters for fun — but things will quickly take a darker turn.

“Escaping from poverty to become a witcher, Vesemir slays monsters for coin and glory, but when a new menace rises, he must face the demons of his past,” the description reads.

Whether that “menace” will tie into the later series remains to be seen, but it would be a promising way for Netflix to connect the two projects. Will the connection go beyond that, with Geralt appearing at some point during the film?

Is Henry Cavill involved in the Netflix project at all?

'The Witcher' star Henry Cavill wearing a black shirt and standing in front of a Netflix wall
‘The Witcher’ star Henry Cavill | Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Netflix

Unfortunately, those hoping to see Cavill clad in witcher gear again will need to wait until The Witcher Season 2 arrives in December. Since The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf takes place prior to Geralt’s story, the actor is unlikely to make an appearance. Narratively, Geralt’s presence in the anime film wouldn’t make a ton of sense. Geralt meets Vesemir when the latter is much older, so this film covers storylines from long before Geralt’s time.

Cavill wasn’t listed on the recently announced casting for the film, nor has the actor mentioned any involvement. To be fair, he’s busy with his own witcher story, along with work on a second Enola Holmes film and several other projects.

Who is in the cast of ‘The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf’?

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Although Cavill won’t show up in The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf, Netflix recently announced which stars comprise the show’s voice cast. Theo James, best known for playing Four in Divergent, will voice Vesemir. This isn’t James’ first foray into voice acting. He also portrays Hector in Castlevania, another animated series from the streamer.

Joining James are Castlevania co-star Graham McTavish as Deglan, Lara Pulver as Tetra, and Mary McDonnell as Lady Zerbst. The descriptions posted on The Witcher‘s Twitter offer some insight into who these characters are, but not how they’ll factor into Vesemir’s story.

Lady Zerbst is a noble and a “fierce supporter of the witchers.” Meanwhile, Tetra takes on the sorceress role, “ensuring that magic is not abused.” Her storyline may connect to Yennefer’s in some way, showing viewers how magic evolved in this world. Netflix describes Deglan as “the hardened warrior-leader of the witchers,” so his connection to Vesemir makes sense. How the two will get along is another story, but that could prove an interesting on-screen dynamic.

Fans will learn more about these characters when The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf arrives on Netflix. The film drops on the platform on Aug. 23, 2021.

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