Here’s why ‘The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf’ is told in anime format

Contrary to Netflix's "The Witcher" series which is told in a live-action format starring Henry Cavill, "The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf" film will be presented through anime.

According to "The Witcher" showrunner and executive producer Lauren Schmidt Hissrich during a media conference, the story of "The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf" will be told through anime because it "could never properly be told in live action."

"I knew that it was a story we could never properly tell in live action," Hissrich said. "When you're creating a live-action show, as a responsible filmmaker, you have to constantly pay attention to casting and location and budget and when I say, 'oh, there's going to be this enormous battle, hundreds of thousands of people and monsters and magic on the mountainside,' some of them would say no."

She added that they wanted to take advantage of the anime format, especially because the creators could let their imagination go in telling the story.

"It's my first experience in animation at all and it was such a great experience because I can just let my imagination go," Hissrich said. "I felt like I was being a writer, storyteller, more like a kid frankly who didn’t have a lot of adult pressures and boundaries put on me and that was a really fun experience."

She added, "Working with Studio Mir was incredible. They pushed us even further. There were times that we hit the bounds of what we can do but Director Han was like, 'Nope, more.' It was a really enlightening experience for someone like me who has only been in live."

According to Hissrich, watching "The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf" is not required to understand the upcoming season two of "The Witcher," but viewers can see small details that will come back in the next season which will "provide extra color" in the story.

"You could be huge anime fan and never heard of 'The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf'  before and hopefully you can love it and hopefully there are Witcher fans and don’t know anything with the anime and fallen In love with the series and [would] give it a shot," she said.

"The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf" is a prequel anime story that revolves around the evolution of Vesemir and what he went through before he became Geralt's mentor.

In the upcoming prequel film, Vesemir finds himself in an adventure where he confronts his own demons as he faces a new monster terrorizing a kingdom.

Written and produced by Beau DeMayo and co-produced by Hissrich, the upcoming film will be directed by Studio Mir’s Kwang Il Han.

The anime film is set to premiere on Netflix Aug. 23. – RC, GMA News