Amazon’s Wheel of Time TV show has some big production issues to overcome

Amazon, along with Sony Pictures Television, Red Eagle Entertainment, and Radar Pictures, is developing a television adaptation of Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series. While this sounds like great news for fantasy fans, there are a lot of hurdles to overcome before this fantasy becomes a reality.

As a potential heir to Game of Thrones’ crown, a Wheel of Time show has a few advantages. For example, unlike Thrones, the Wheel of Time novels are finished. When Thrones premiered in 2011, author George R.R. Martin had completed five of the projected seven books in his Song of Ice and Fire series. Barring a miracle, when Game of Thrones wraps up in 2019, we’ll still be waiting on that sixth book. Running out of source material partway through created difficulties for HBO; Amazon won’t have that problem.

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However, the sheer size of the Wheel of Time series could present its own issues. Jordan’s series is massive 14-tome epoch (15 if you count the prequel), with many of the installments topping out over 700 pages in hardback. How many seasons of television would that require? HBO is wrapping up Game of Thrones with eight seasons, and it doesn’t seem like enough.

Admittedly, Jordan’s writing style makes the books seem more eventful than they are. Jordan was a true wordsmith, but many of his long, in-depth descriptions, so important to painting a picture in the mind’s eye, can be visualized in seconds on film.

But while some of the middle books might be combined into a single season of television, others will strain the edges of the format. In The Wheel of Time, every character, every scene and every conversation all serve a purpose, even if their importance may not become clear until later.

Amazon will have a difficult time deciding what to cut and what to keep. Even with judicious culling, it would be challenging to squeeze this story into 10 seasons, and some seasons might need 12 or 13 episodes to do justice to the source material.

Casting

There are about 15 characters in the Wheel of Time series who could be considered leads. There are another two dozen or so who are imperative to the story, and dozens more who play sizable roles in the books.

Casting the right people for all of these roles would be incredibly important to thelong-termm success of the series, with one miscast potentially meaning disaster. That puts a lot of pressure on the casting department.

The books are extremely character-driven, and unlike Game of Thrones, most of the characters are not morally ambiguous. This is a story about heroes. Yes, there are plenty of villains, but most of the main characters are decent people working for the greater good, more Jon Snow than Varys. The actors who play them will need to be spot-on with their interpretations.

Locales, Settings and Costumes

With over a dozen unique kingdoms, countries and other places to visit in the novels, Amazon will have a large task building sets and finding locations. Few of these fictional locales share physical similarities, but I imagine compromises could be made for TV.

This series will also feature multiple points of view, from various locales, simultaneously. These various locales will always be changing throughout the series so the issues of how to deal with possible multiple sets and crews to shoot the series need to be addressed before production can start.

Jordan uses distinct manners of speech and dress to distinguish the different nationalities in his books from one another. The show will acquire a critical mass of talented costume designers. If the goal is to mirror the books as closely as possible, the cost of personnel and materials will be an issue.

Special Effects and Magic

While Game of Thrones keeps its story pretty grounded in the reality of medieval times, The Wheel of Time relies much more on magic. That’s not to say there aren’t battles where swords and shields cross and clang, but magic plays a huge role in the general storyline, with characters often traveling by by magical means.

The scriptwriters will have to be diligent in explaining how these things are done so they make sense when audiences see them on screen. It also means that the Wheel of Times TV show will rely heavily on special effects, and the producers will have to think about how to implement them in a convincing way. There are no wands or hand gestures; most of the magic in this series is performed mentally, with only the results visible.

And of course, what fantasy story worth its salt would be complete without its fair share of horrifying beasts? There may not be many dragons in The Wheel of Time, but the designers and CGI artists will have their plates full with a number of hideous imagined creatures.

Production details and questions

To do these books justice, the production will have to climb many mountains. Are Amazon and its partners, along with showrunner Rafe Judkins, up to the task? Can they stay true to the books and make money? Can this series be made without long, frustrating gaps in production? Will the episodes lengths — and the lengths of the season — fluctuate or stay consistent?

If Amazon and their partners decide to go ahead with this project, you have to think they will be all in on making it spectacular. If done correctly, a Wheel of Time series could be at least as big as Game of Thrones. Audiences have proven they’re willing to follow these types of characters and storylines to the end; many wish Game of Thrones wasn’t ending even after eight seasons. If Amazon can stir up up enough enthusiasm, both among Wheel of Time diehards and people new to the series, this could be something special. Hopefully Amazon will greenlight the project soon, so there will be as little time between TV fantasy epics as possible; the time to strike is now, while the iron is blazing hot.

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h/t IGN