Check These Monsters and Young, Hot Vesemir in First Teaser for Netflix’s The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf

If there’s one thing that is safe to predict about The Witcher’s fandom, it’s that these folks are thirsty for some Witchers and their bathtub scenes, and on both counts it looks like upcoming Netflix anime film The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf will be delivering in full. Set decades before the live-action series starring Henry Cavill as legendary witcher Geralt of Rivia, Nightmare of the Wolf will follow Geralt’s mentor Vesemir as a younger man, doing the things that Witchers are known to do—bathing, romancing, and slaughtering monsters. The series is due to premiere on Aug. 23, 2021 and dropped its first teaser today, which you can see below.

Tone-wise, it feels like a somewhat lighter-hearted take on the Witcher universe first put on screen in the live action series, with a playful irreverence to the dialog that puts one in mind of Netflix’s own Castlevania—Vesemir has some serious Trevor Belmont energy going on here. Fans are likely to be distracted, however, by just how handsomely Vesemir is drawn—the version they know from The Witcher videogames is always depicted as a very crusty, grumpy old man. Netflix is not trying to hide their pandering to the thirsty fans on this one.

Actor Theo James stars as Vesemir in Nightmare of the Wolf, alongside Lara Pulver as Tetra, Mary McDonnell as Lady Zerbst and the great Graham McTavish (another Castlevania connection, as he played Dracula) as Deglan.

Season 2 of the live-action Witcher, meanwhile, is scheduled to return this December, giving us another dose of Henry Cavill’s Geralt, and hopefully some more bath time with it. In the meantime, slake your thirst with the Nightmare of the Wolf teaser below.