See how The Wheel of Time created the terrifying Trollocs

We’re only a few short weeks away from the premiere of The Wheel of Time season 2 on Prime Video, and the Dark One is rolling out the promotional material. Based on the 14-book epic fantasy series by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson, The Wheel of Time follows a group of young adults who are whisked away from their idyllic country village by the sorceress Moiraine (Rosamund Pike) to help fight the forces of darkness.

The forces of darkness include the Trollocs, giant human-animal hybrid soldiers; and the Myrdraal, the eyeless humanoids who command them. Both are iconic creatures from the book series, and the show did a

wonderful

terrifying job bringing them to life.

We’ll be seeing many more Trollocs in season 2. Check out how The Wheel of Time created these creatures, as revealed in a new promo video titled Terror of the Trollocs:

The Trollocs are “nightmare fuel” in The Wheel of Time season 2

“The Dark One has an army called Trollocs. They’re monsters that do his bidding, and they’re programmed killing machines,” explains Rosamund Pike. “Some look more like wild boar, some look like birds.”

When Pike says that Trollocs are “programmed killing machines,” she isn’t kidding; these creatures were intentionally created by the Dark One with that sole purpose in mind. “They were, effectively, genetically engineered war tools. Men spliced with animals to create the ultimate soldier,” adds executive producer Mike Weber.

In spite of that, the Trollocs are also “complicated and interesting” creatures according to showrunner Rafe Judkins. “They’re more than just monsters, there’s a human piece.”

If the opening scene of season 2, the so-called “Darkfriend Social,” is anything to judge by, we may see a bit more of the human side of the Trollocs this time around. That scene ends with the Man (Fares Fares) leading a small child out of a shadowy gathering to meet a group of Trollocs who are standing outside. They even like to be pet!

Considering how cool the Trollocs look onscreen, it should come as no surprise that creating them was a challenge. “We mixed extraordinary prosthetics with VFX. And they look unlike anything I’ve seen on TV,” says co-executive producer and writer Justine Juel Gillmer. “The Trollocs are nightmare fuel.”

Make-up effects designer Nick Dudman goes into a bit more detail about the Trolloc costuming. The horns are all detachable, since it’d probably be somewhat dangerous to toss stunt people around on wires otherwise.

"We’re working with the stunt department to figure out all the safety aspects, ’cause they’ve all got massive horns on that, if knocked, will come off so that nobody is injured, but will snap back on. Some of them are on stilts. We want them to be colossally tall."

Season 2 of The Wheel of Time will dig into material from both the second and third books in the series, The Great Hunt and The Dragon Reborn. The battle between the light and the dark is only going to get more complicated from here on out. “As we reach season 2, the dark is not obvious evil. It has many potent charms to offer people,” teases Pike.

The first three episodes of The Wheel of Time season 2 premiere on September 1.

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