Nightmare Of The Wolf Cast Guide: Every Returning Witcher Character

Warning: Spoilers for Witcher: Nightmare Of The Wolf.

The anime film The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf features a new cast of witchers and sorceresses, with a few returning characters from the live-action The Witcher series. Premiering August 23, 2021, Nightmare of the Wolf functions as a prequel to Geralt’s story, centering instead on his witcher mentor, Vesemir. With non-humans being so widely feared and ostracized, Vesemir contends with threats both human and monster as he investigates a conspiracy within the witcher’s guild, Kaer Morhen.

Set in the kingdom Kaedwen, the anime film provides a backstory for Vesemir while also introducing the character to those who haven’t played the games or read the books, preceding his appearance in season 2 of The Witcher. The film also serves to provide details about a siege upon Kaer Morhen that leads to a bloody battle where all but five witchers perish. Among these survivors are Geralt and his fellow initiates, setting the stage for Vesemir and Geralt to grow into the mentor-mentee relationship that will likely also be touched upon in The Witcher season 2.

Although Nightmare of the Wolf continues to showcase human and monster conflicts by revolving around a central witcher-sorceress pairing, the film mainly features Witcher characters that are new to the screen. Aside from Vesemir and Tetra, supporting characters witcher Deglan and love interest Illyana are introduced, both of whom are integral figures in Vesemir’s past. Those versed in the franchise, however, will recognize a few characters from the world, with new designs appropriate to the anime film’s timeline.

Returning Characters in Nightmare of the Wolf

Theo James as Vesemir

Vesemir makes his first physical appearance in Netflix’s Witcher franchise in Nightmare of the Wolf. The young witcher’s swashbuckling attitude brings a flair to monster-slaying that is a far cry from the Vesemir many know from The Witcher games and books. As he uncovers who is responsible for creating the mutant monsters, his rare act of mercy is what indirectly leads to Tetra’s siege of Kaer Morhen. At the end of the film, he is left with four surviving children initiates, all who become his charges for the next few decades. Vesemir is voiced by Divergent actor Theo James, who also lends his voice for his singular line in the eighth and final episode of The Witcher season 1. James can also be heard as forgemaster Hector in Netflix’s Castlevania, and has been cast in the upcoming series, The Time Traveler’s Wife.

Harry Hissrich as Geralt

Though not Henry Cavill’s Geralt from the live-action series, the witcher makes a minor return to the franchise, voiced by Harry Hissrich. First seen as one of the many children brought to Kaer Morhen to begin training as a witcher, he is one of the few to survive that generation’s Trial of the Grasses, and was the one to offer a secure escape route for the other children during Tetra’s siege. The deadpan bald child is only explicitly revealed to be Geralt at the film’s very end, when Vesemir asks him to choose without hesitation whether or not he’ll continue his training as a witcher. The live-action series hasn’t revealed much of Geralt’s origin story so far, so these cameos set the stage for more to be revealed in The Witcher season 2. His voice actor, Harry Hissrich, is actually executive producer Lauren Schmidt Hissrich’s son, making Nightmare of the Wolf his voice acting debut.

Tom Canton as Filavandrel

The second character making a return appearance in Nightmare of the Wolf is Filavandrel, the king of the elves, voiced by Tom Canton. In the film, a long-haired and righteous Filavandrel approaches Vesemir for a favor, asking him to investigate why groups of elf girls were going missing. Vesemir initially declines the job, and Filavandrel takes it upon himself to discover his missing people. Not quite as adept at monster-slaying, Filavandrel gets captured by a mutated elf mage, and is eventually freed by Vesemir and sorceress Tetra. It is at Filavandrel’s insistence that Vesemir allows a surviving mutated elf child go, which sets the events leading up to the siege at Kaer Morhen in motion. Canton also plays Filavandrel in Netflix’s The Witcher, and can be seen in Amazon’s Truth Seekers, the drama FARMING (2018), and in the 2017 UK series The Good Karma Hospital.

New Characters in Nightmare of the Wolf

Lara Pulver as Tetra Gilcrest

Tetra, the sorceress who leads the siege that ends the witchers. Tetra Gilcrest is descended from one of the Continent’s first mages, and had trained at the magical academy Aretuza. Tetra held purist values, condemning witchers as corrupt mutations. Determined to have them eliminated from Kaedwen, Tetra used the information gathered to build an army and attack the guild, killing all but five witchers before being dying to witcher Deglan. It’s revealed at the end of Nightmare of the Wolf that Tetra’s hatred stems from a traumatic childhood experience with a corrupt witcher, who had tricked a priest into believing that Tetra’s mother was bewitching him. Seeing her mother killed before her eyes and seeing the witcher pay off the accomplice in the scam radicalized her into the mage she is in the film. Actress Lara Pulver is most known for her role as Irene Adler in the BBC’s Sherlock, as well as 2014 film Edge of Tomorrow, vampire series True Blood, and AMC’s upcoming animated series, Pantheon.

Graham McTavish as Deglan

The champion of the morally grey, Deglan is the witcher that inspires Vesemir to become one himself. The old witcher’s adage, “Witchers do not hesitate,” plagues Vesemir throughout the film, and his teachings are what kept Vesemir in a similar grey area up until his decision to spare the mutant child. Deglan was responsible for using alchemy tied to the wolf witchers’ origins to create the mutant crossbreeds in the film, attempting to ensure that the witchers remain a necessity to the kingdom. He ultimately perishes in the siege against Kaer Morhen, just after killing sorceress Tetra with a flying axe. McTavish is set to appear in season 2 of The Witcher as spy Dijkstra, and was previously Dracula in Netflix’s Castlevania and Father Kinley in Lucifer. He has also been cast in HBO’s House of the Dragon.

Mary McDonnell as Lady Zerbst

Illyana Zerbst, known in the film as Lady Zerbst, was Vesemir’s childhood friend and love interest. Vesemir had left her at the manor they worked at as children, only to see her later as a Lady holding an inherited position in the King’s court. Lady Zerbst challenges Tetra’s opposition in court, forcing Tetra to provide proof rather than instigating a meaningless hate campaign with little foundation. Lady Zerbst is one of the many that perish at Kaer Morhen, but not before she helps young witcher Geralt and the other initiates to safety. Prolific actress Mary McDonnell can be seen in Battlestar Galactica, the series Fargo, and the classic film Donnie Darko.

Nightmare of the Wolf Supporting Cast

Kari Wahlgren as Kitsu: Voice actress Wahlgren plays mutated elf mage Kitsu, who teams up with Tetra to bring a horde of monsters to Kaer Morhen. She’s previously lent voices to Rick and Morty, The Owl House, and to the Kung Fu Panda films.

Keith Ferguson as Reidrich: Reidrich is a witcher mage, and the one responsible for using alchemy to create the mutant crossbreeds with Deglan. Ferguson was previously in animated shows Duck Tales and Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends.

Matthew Yang King as Luka: Luka is a wolf witcher at Kaer Morhen who is one of Vesemir’s closest friends. When captured along with Vesemir for causing a disturbance in a bar, Luka becomes Tetra’s scapegoat for the mutant creations, and is ultimately beheaded in court. King is known for his roles in CW’s Riverdale, Love, Death, & Robots, and Sweet Home.

Darryl Kurylo as Sven: Sven is Vesemir’s other close friend, one of few who he trained with. The witcher fights in the siege at Kaer Morhen, but does not survive. Kurylo is mostly a video game voice actor, having been in World of Warcraft and Destiny  2.

Adam Croasdell as King Dagread: The flippant king of Kaedwen who allows Tetra to commence her siege on Kaer Morhen.  Aside from Nightmare of the Wolf, Croasdell is known for his roles in Blood of Zeus, Castlevania, and Preacher.

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