The second season of The Wheel of Time, based on Robert Jordan's epic book series, aired on Prime Video last year. Filming on season 3 has been done for a long while, but we've heard very little from Amazon about what's coming.
That's about to change. Several cast members are heading to the 2024 Comic Con Experience in Brazil this weekend, where they're expected to pull back the curtain on season 3. To whet our appeties, the official Wheel of Time account on X/Twitter just revealed the first poster for the new season. Behold!
So what are we looking at here? It's main character Rand al'Thor (Josha Stradowski), the Dragon Reborn himself, carrying a woman through a desert landscape where lots of spears are stuck in the ground. Let's try and decode this.
Beware SPOILERS from The Wheel of Time books below
The most obvious implication we can make is that Rand and the mystery woman are in the Aiel Waste, a desert land where the Aiel people live. Rand's mother is Aiel. The third season of The Wheel of Time will be based on the fourth book in the series, The Shadow Rising, where Rand and company travel to the Aiel Waste so Rand can win over its people to his cause.
That's about the only thing I'm sure of. I'm not certain who the woman is and I don't think we're supposed to know; otherwise they would have shown her face. In The Shadow Rising, prominent female characters who accompany Rand to the Waste include his Aes Sedai mentor Moiraine (Rosamund Pike), his friend Egwene (Madeleine Madden), and the Aiel woman Aviendha (Ayoola Smart). Of those three, the woman in the poster looks the most like Moiraine to me, but I'm not sure. If you have any ideas, please share them in the comments!
For the record, there's no scene from The Shadow Rising where Rand carries any of these women through the Aiel Waste, so this may be something added for the show. Or else it's just a poetic poster image. There is a part where Rand and Moiraine separately visit the sacred Aiel city of Rhuidean, where things get pretty intense. Maybe Rand is carrying her out?
UPDATE: The alt text on the poster shared through the official Wheel of Time Twitter account reveals that the woman in Rand's arms is, in fact, Moiraine. I pat myself on the back.
I also don't remember anything from The Shadow Rising about a bunch of spears stuck in the ground, but the Aiel do love their spears, so it sounds like something they might do. Again, that spread might mark the entrance to Rhuidean, which has a whole mystical and spooky vibe.
The Wheel of Time season 3 release date will be revealed on Saturday
We'll undoubtedly find out more this weekend at CCXP! In fact, The Wheel of Time showrunner Rafe Judkins just shared on his Instagram Stories that he'll announce the release date this Saturday during the convention. Instagram Stories eventually disappear, but screenshots last.
All we know for sure right now is that The Wheel of Time season 3 will premiere on Prime Video sometime in 2025. We're about to learn more. Watch this space.
To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and Twitter account, sign up for our exclusive newsletter and check out our YouTube channel.