The Wheel of Time books started coming out in 1990, but only now is Robert Jordan’s fantasy epic getting the lavish TV adaptation it deserves, courtesy of Amazon Studios. Fans know that this story has a ton of characters — it’s 14 books long, it would have to — and even though we’ve heard about a lot of them there are still plenty unaccounted for, including some big ones. During New York Comic Con, Amazon filled in a couple of the blanks.
First and foremost, it announced that Ceara Coveney will be playing the role of Elayne Trakand, a role so pivotal it’s frankly weird they’re only announcing now. Coveney is the one in the upper right:
Ceara Coveney has been revealed as our Elayne Trakand! What characters do you think Natasha O'Keeffe and Meera Syal are playing? (Hint: Rafe said they were "two of the most important characters") #TheWheelofTime pic.twitter.com/zJgtVci3Hh
— The Wheel Of Time (@TheWheelOfTime) October 8, 2021
Elayne is the daughter of Queen Morgase Trakand and the heir apparent to her kingdom. She meets lead character Rand al’Thor (Josha Stradowski) in the first book, The Eye of the World, and gets to know some of the other character when she heads to the White Tower to train as an Aes Sedai sorceress.
However, according to Deadline, Coveney will only join the series in season 2, which means they’re likely skipping over her introduction in The Eye of the World. With only eight episodes in the first season and a lot of ground to cover, something had to go, although I’ll be curious to see how they weave Elayne back into the story, because again, she’s a major player.
Has The Wheel of Time cast Aviendha or Lanfear?
Amazon revealed two other actors alongside Coveney — Natasha O’Keeffe and Meera Syal — but didn’t say who they were playing. Naturally, Twitter is full of ideas. The consensus seems to be that Meera Syal would be a good fit for Verin Mathwin, a bookish Aes Sedai sorceress. Meanwhile, Natasha O’Keeffe could be a good match for a few characters, including the warrior Aviendha or the villain Lanfear.
But we won’t know for sure until season 2. In the meantime, The Wheel of Time season 1 premieres on Amazon Prime Video on November 19.
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