Wheel of Time casting rumors suggest changes to the source material

Amazon’s adaptation of Robert Jordan’s epic fantasy series The Wheel of Time begun production back in September (and should conclude in May 2020) with a cast headlined by Rosamund Pike. So far as the main characters go, we mostly know who’s playing who, but new casting announcements are coming out all the time, and they hint at changes to the first novel of the series, The Eye of the World.

Before we get to that, Redanian Intelligence is reporting that the first season of the show will consist of just eight episodes. The Eye of the World isn’t a short book, so at first glance, I’d say that feels condensed, although every book series gets trimmed somewhat for television.

Redanian Intelligence also revealed several several casting choices. The most important character in the new batch, Eamon Valda — a senior member of the Children of the Light — will be played by Abdul Salis.

A guy who looked a lot like Salis was seen at the initial Wheel of Time table read:

The Children are a paramilitary group of religious extremists intent on stomping out Darkfriends (followers of the Lord of the Dark) wherever they exist. Unfortunately, they generally view anyone not in the Children as a Darkfriend, making them a villainous addition to the series by and large. What makes Salis’ casting as Valda interesting is that Valda is mentioned in Eye of the World but does not appear until the sixth book of the series. Could we see an expanded role for the Children early on? Or could Valda be merged with other characters from the books?

Next up, in a more minor role, Pearce Quigley has been cast as Master Hightower, the owner of a ferry that helps our heroes escape across a river early on in the first novel. Nothing surprising here; we’d expect him to feature in only a scene or two.

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 17: Pearce Quigley attends the UK Premiere of “Peterloo” at HOME during the 62nd BFI London Film Festival on October 17, 2018 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Shirlaine Forrest/Getty Images)

Moving on, twin child actors Lilibet and Litiana Biutanaseva have been cast as Eldrin and Bode Cauthon, younger sisters to lead character Matrim Cauthon (Barney Harris). Mat’s family is largely unseen in The Eye of the World, but this — along with the announcement of actors playing Mat’s parents — indicate we’ll get a better idea of their family dynamic early on.

And finally, stunt actor Roman Dvořák has been cast as a Trolloc, one of the Dark One’s foot soldiers. Trollocs can vary in appearance, from the head of a ram to an eagle, so there’s no telling if we’ll recognize Dvořák when we see him. Sorry buddy.

That’s it for now, although given The Wheel of Time’s notoriously large cast characters, we’ll probably hear more before long.

What do we think of the inclusion of some characters who don’t appear in the books until later? Significant or much ado about nothing? Let us know!

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