Production on Amazon’s adaptation of Robert Jordan’s epic fantasy series, The Wheel of Time, was well underway before the world ground to a halt this past March. However, as Hollywood slowly begins to get back to work, so does the hype machine. For example, Amazon has just confirmed the casting of two of the show’s villains (well, villains depending on who you ask) on the official Wheel of Time Twitter account:
Surprise! We have another announcement. The Children of the Light have arrived. Let’s welcome the Whitecloaks to the #WOTonPrime family.
— The Wheel Of Time (@TheWheelOfTime) July 1, 2020
Abdul Salis @Abdulsalis13 is Eamon
Stuart Graham @stuartwgraham is Geofram pic.twitter.com/IOa3wWuwdX
Now, we’d heard a while back that Salis had been cast as Eamon Valda, but Graham’s casting as Geofram Bornhald is news to us. Both characters are senior members of the Children of the Light, a paramilitary organization devoted to rooting out evildoers, known as Darkfriends, from society. That sounds noble enough, but the Children of the Light are a little overzealous with their work, and have a habit of suspecting people of evil even if they don’t deserve it. They’re often a thorn in our heroes’ sides.
Interestingly, Valda doesn’t appear until much later in Robert Jordan’s novels, so his inclusion in the show’s first season raises my eyebrows a bit. It’s possible that, on the show, Valda is an amalgam of other Children of the Light characters; Jordan’s novels are famous for their massive casts. Or maybe he’ll just be present at a Children of the Light all-hands meeting or something. We’ll have to wait and see to be sure.
Bornhald, meanwhile, is one of the Children’s respected generals, and plays a critical role in one of lives of one of our lead characters early on.
Headlined by Rosamund Pike as Moiraine Damodred, production on The Wheel of Time initially began in September of 2019, with an anticipated completion date of May 2020. That didn’t happen, for obvious reasons.
Originally, Amazon was hoping to get the show out sometime in 2021, which is hopefully still possible. The Wheel weaves as the Wheel wills..
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