Amazon casts five new actors in its The Wheel of Time show

A couple of months ago, Amazon announced the first cast member to join its adaptation of Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time series: Oscar nominee Rosamund Pike. She’ll be playing the role of Moiraine, a member of an all-female organization called the Aes Sedai and a key figure in the early stretches of Jordan’s series. But after that, news about the show kind of dried up, save for Amazon’s official synopsis:

"Set in a sprawling, epic world where magic exists and only certain women are allowed to access it, the story follows Moiraine, a member of the incredibly powerful all-female organization called the Aes Sedai, as she arrives in the small town of Two Rivers. There, she embarks on a dangerous, world-spanning journey with five young men and women, one of whom is prophesied to be the Dragon Reborn, who will either save or destroy humanity."

That all changed today, as the show’s official Twitter account revealed five more actors who will be joining Pike as part of its main cast. Let’s take a closer look.

First, Twitter introduced us to Dutch actor Josha Straowski (Just Friends), who will be playing Rand al’Thor, one of the main protagonists from the books and one of several who could be the long-prophesied Dragon Reborn. If there’s a main character in The Wheel of Time — the cast is huge — it’s probably this guy.

“It was not about me. It’s never been about me.” This is a quote from ‘Chapter 39’ of A Memory of Light, the fourteenth and final book in the series — by this time, Jordan had passed, and author Brandon Sanderson had stepped in to complete the saga. Here’s a bit more of the quote:

"Rand stepped forward. In this place of nothing, the Pattern seemed to swirl around him like a tapestry. HERE IS YOUR FLAW, SHAITAN— LORD OF THE DARK, LORD OF ENVY! LORD OF NOTHING! HERE IS WHY YOU FAIL! IT WAS NOT ABOUT ME. IT’S NEVER BEEN ABOUT ME!"

And it goes on. Amazon has taken snippets from this part of the book and included them along with each subsequent tweet.

Next, we have British actor Marcus Rutherford (Obey) in the role of Perrin Aybara, one of Rand’s best buds.

New Zealand actress Zoe Robins (The New Tomorrow) will portray Nynaeve al’Meara, yet another of the main characters. The Wheel of Time spreads the wealth around.

Here, we have British actor Barney Harris (Billionaire Boys Club, The Hollow Crown). He’ll be playing the roguish Mat Cauthon, who’s described as incredibly lucky. He’s also known for his fierce loyalty and willingness to help those who need help the most.

And finally, we have Australian actor Madeleine Madden (Picnic at Hanging Rock, Dora and the Lost City of Gold) playing Egwene Al’Vere.

Egwene is very adept with the One Power, a sort of magical energy used to manipulate the universe in The Wheel of Time. She and Nynaeve both show promise as Aes Sedai, although Nynaeve mistrusts these “witches” because of her upbringing.

So it appears that Amazon has their principal cast. Next to Rosamund Pike, only Madeleine Madden and Barney Harris seem to have experience working on a big film and/or television project. The others are just getting their feet wet.

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Wheel of Time fans out there, what do you think of these choices? Is this how you pictured these characters?

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