The next big fantasy series to air is The Wheel of Time, Amazon’s adaptation of Robert Jordan’s 14-book strong epic fantasy series. The novels have been around for decades but have never gotten a proper onscreen adaptation, in part because the rights have been tied up and in part because of the scale — how do you squeeze 14 complicated books into a handful of movies?
And then Game of Thrones came along on HBO and provided a solution to the second question: you don’t make movies, you make a TV show. Jeff Bezos’ money solved the rights issue, and now a proper Wheel of Time TV show is finally coming, with Rafe Judkins serving as showrunner.
But there’s still a high hill to climb. Let’s start with that Game of Thrones comparison, because it’s coming whether the fans want it or not, something Judkins realizes. “The Wheel of Time came out before Game of Thrones, in terms of the books,” he told Den of Geek. “There’s so much that is in Game of Thrones – and George will say this – that was inspired by The Wheel of Time. But we as creators have to be mindful of the fact that Game of Thrones has already come out and is a reference point for a lot of audiences.”
The Wheel of Time show wouldn’t have been made had Game of Thrones not showed the world that a big expensive fantasy show could be a success, and ultimately there’s enough room for everybody. And considering how different a story The Wheel of Time is, it will set itself apart soon enough.
Casting the main characters in The Wheel of Time
With 14 books, there are a lot of characters in this story, but it starts pretty simply: with a trio of boys living in the sleepy Two Rivers region, completely unprepared for the adventure they’re about to take: Rand al’Thor (Josha Stradowski); Mat Cauthon (Barney Harris), and Perrin Aybara (Marcus Rutherford).
“With Rand, we wanted to find an actor that really brought out not only the goodness of the character but also the complications, and really embodied this guy who was a shepherd in the mountains and never wanted this adventure that’s been thrust upon him,” Judkins said. “Mat and Perrin are so much more than sidekick characters… Sometimes people felt like they didn’t really fall in love with those characters until some of the later books when they really got to know them and got to see their POV on the world. Hopefully in the show, right from the beginning–Marcus and Barney give such strong performances–they are a part of the ensemble right up front.”
Then there’s Moiraine Damodred (Rosamund Pike), a powerful Aes Sedai sorceress with the power to “channel” the One Power, aka use magic. “The channeling is so integral to the world of The Wheel of Time,” Judkins said. “The author made a system that makes sense. It works; it has rules, and you have to follow them. So we’ve been really careful on the show to make sure that we’re holding to all of those same rules.”
"We didn’t just send it off to VFX and say, ‘Give us a simple light show.’ We started with Rosamund and a movement coach. Threads [of magic] are woven together; they call them weaves; they call it channeling. We went through everything in the books and passages discussing what it feels like to embrace the Source, what it feels like to weave things together."
What will be cut from The Wheel of Time books?
Clearly, Judkins cares about getting the details right, and there are a ton of details in this show. “ really built this huge geo-political world, and the cultures of the different nations were so distinct,” he said. “In the first book, they don’t go to as many of those places, but the ones we do–the detail to which they are thought through in trying to deliver exactly the culture that was represented in the books in those places is extremely thorough.”
Even so, you can’t adapt a 14-book series without cutting a few things her and there. “I think it’s our job to both be true to The Wheel of Time books but also be mindful of… the things that could feel repetitive that are fresh and unique,” he said.
"We’ll never be able to achieve everything that’s in the books. What are the iconic places that we need to do, and do we need to shift things around in physical space in order to hit them? … I don’t want to waste all my production money putting town after town on screen."
Hey, if the first season is a big hit maybe they’ll double the budget for season 2. Look under your coach cushions, Jeff.
The Wheel of Time premieres on Amazon Prime Video on November 19.
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