‘The Witcher’ Is Getting A Movie On Netflix, But It’s Not What You Expect

When Netflix announced the viewing numbers for Season 1 of The Witcher, jaws dropped. According to the streamer's metrics, an unheard-of 76 million pairs of eyeballs had checked out at least a few minutes of one episode of the series. While this is not comparable to measuring full views of episodes, it still proves a massive amount of interest in the franchise. And those numbers are almost certainly what's behind the news of The Witcher is getting a movie on Netflix. But fans should be advised; this movie offshoot might not be what you're imagining.

For one thing, the cast of the TV series is not signed to make films. For another, pre-production for The Witcher Season 2 is already underway, so there's no time for the production to make a movie on top of that. However, Netflix found a way to get fans more Witcher content before the series' Season 2 return (which likely won't be until 2021): The streamer has commissioned a movie, with a twist: It's animated. The project will be helmed by Studio Mir, best known as the studio behind Legend of Korra. Netflix confirmed via Twitter that an "anime film" titled The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf will take viewers "back" to a new threat facing the Continent.

There's no word yet on who the voice cast will be, nor is there a release date. But what fans do know is that it will be overseen by Lauren Hissrich, the showrunner behind the live-action series, so whatever happens, the anime film and the show will at least be somewhat linked.

There's no synopsis as of yet, but fans should note the word "back" in the above tweet. As audiences know, The Witcher Season 1 featured a lot of time-jumping, with three storylines that covered nearly a century, from Geralt's early years in the 1170s to the present-day of 1263. Season 2 is expected to be more straightforward, covering events in the 1260s and beyond. The use of the word "back," then, suggests this film will occur closer to one of Geralt's standalone adventures that dotted the first season.

All this said, it's not clear which standalone short story the anime flick will adapt. The series skipped a couple from the first short story collection, The Last Wish, and only used a few from the second collection, Sword of Destiny. None of the remaining tales are called Nightmare of the Wolf, so it's hard to guess which of the unused stories this movie will adapt. Good thing fans have plenty of time to speculate.