Amazon’s Wheel of Time series has an official production start date

Amazon is making a TV adaptation of Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson’s Wheel of Time series, a 14-book epic set in a world where time repeats over and over. It’s filled with complex characters, a variety of invented cultures, a prophesied messiah, and more; it’s got everything you want from an epic fantasy series, and with its length, it could make for a very full TV show.

For such a massive undertaking, we’ve heard surprisingly little about The Wheel of Time, although that’s likely to change as 2019 goes on. The Wheel of Time fansite The Daily Trolloc dug up the December 20 issue of Production Weekly, a trade publication that lists the series as starting production in September of this year. It also tells us that the series will be shot at least partially in Prague, and repeats the official synopsis first shared by The Hollywood Reporter last October:

"Set in a sprawling world where magic exists but can only be used by women, the story follows Moiraine, a member of the shadowy and influential all-female organization the Aes Sedai, as she embarks on a dangerous journey with five young men and women. Moiraine’s interest in these five lies in the fact that she believes one of them might be the reincarnation of an incredibly powerful individual who prophecies say will either save humanity or destroy it."

Now, I’m not a Wheel of Time expert, but friend-of-the-site Ani Bundel is, and she’s told me that the synopsis oversimplifies things by saying that magic can only be used by women; in the books, at least, both men and women can access “the One Power,” although there’s some complicated history that’s resulted in society looking poorly on men who show an aptitude. It’s also interesting that the synopsis makes Moiraine sound like the lead character, when really it’s her charges — Rand al’Thor, Matrim Cauthon, or Perrin Aybara — who take center stage.

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Then again, The Wheel of Time is a long-ass book series, so maybe this is just describing the first season. Does Amazon have what it takes to make this thing work over the long haul?

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