The Wheel of Time season 3 is just around the corner, and the hype is off the charts. Season 3 is based on The Shadow Rising, widely considered one of the best novels in Robert Jordan's iconic fantasy book series. Some pretty big events happen in this part of the story, and The Wheel of Time TV show is signaling to fans that it's rising to the occasion with an extensive marketing campaign, cast interviews, trailers, and a thrilling sneak peak at the blood-drenched opening minutes of season 3.
We recently participated in a press junket with several members of the cast, and they did a pretty great job of getting us excited for what lies ahead. Rosamund Pike (Moiraine) and Josha Stradowski (Rand) talked up the "psychedelic" fourth episode of the season, which will take viewers to the mystical Aiel city of Rhuidean. Daniel Henney (Lan) and Sophie Okonedo (Siuan Sanche) teased the arrival of Elaida and Melindhra, two characters who will have an outsized impact on Siuan and Lan respectively as they bring up ghosts from their pasts. We also heard quite a bit about The Wheel of Time's new filming techniques. For the first time, the show was filmed with wider lenses to give it a true 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio. As Henney tells it, this will result in "a more intense, deep sort of experience for the audience."
Now it's time for our next interview, with none other than Marcus Rutherford and Dónal Finn, the actors behind Perrin Aybara and Mat Cauthon. Watch our full interview right here:
The Wheel of Time season 3 will include "pivotal" book moments for Perrin
As readers of the book series know, Perrin will be heading home this season to the Two Rivers. But all is not well in the idyllic mountain town, which is caught between roving Trollocs and tyrannical Whitecloaks. As we've seen in the trailer, a big battle is coming, and in terms of sheer production values, it's going to surpass anything we've seen yet in the series. As Marcus Rutherford told us, season 3 will launch The Wheel of Time "to another level."
"I think the scale of season 3 goes up again. I think a lot of people noticed kind of a jump from seasons one to two, but I think the action that happens in season 3...culminates all kinds of characters and storylines," Rutherford said. "I think the scale of it and the jeopardy is incredible...the stunts team, and the VFX team, and the acting throughout all the action as well...we've had action before but it's felt quite, you know there's a lot of people need to get to different places and stuff, but I feel like the action that happens in season 3 has been choreographed beautifully."
As for what we can expect in the Two Rivers storyline specifically, Rutherford dropped some hints that made my book reader heart happy. It sounds like it will include a lot of familiar beats from Perrin's crucial storyline in The Shadow Rising.
"I was reading The Shadow Rising before, and I love the fact that when I was reading the scripts, that all those moments that are really pivotal for Perrin's journey are in there," Rutherford said. "And I think a lot of people, without spoiling too much, know that there's a lot of action...and a lot that happens to Perrin when he goes home."
The last time we saw Perrin was at the Battle of Falme, the coastal city under occupation by the Seanchan. That battle from the season 2 finale was easily the largest battle sequence The Wheel of Time had produced up to that point, but it sounds like the battle in the Two Rivers will eclipse it, both in terms of scale as well as its focus on the characters trapped at the center of it. And of course, it will also look better than ever thanks to the show's shiny new camera technology.
"Our director, [Ciaran Donnelly], choreographed some incredible stunt work, you know almost like one-take kind of action," Rutherford explained. "I think Falme was incredible to shoot, but there was a lot of different bits going on. I think for that storyline, all the characters [that] are there have this one kind of purpose, and one kind of aim, and I think that kind of breathes through the action there. And I think Ciaran's work is stunning, I think he kind of changed the lenses and the camera and the cinematography for it, so I think there's a lot hopefully this season that will just look a lot more film-like on camera."
Dónal Finn teases higher stakes and consequences in season 3
While Perrin returns to the Two Rivers, Mat Cauthon will be setting out for the smuggler's haven of Tanchico. He may not face quite as many Trollocs as Perrin, but in some ways Mat's journey is even more perilous: not only will he presumably be wrapped up in Elayne (Ceara Coveney) and Nynaeve's (Zoë Robins) hunt for the Black Ajah, but he'll be going off book. In The Shadow Rising, Mat heads out to the Aiel Waste, and isn't involved at all in the Tanchico storyline. It's anyone's guess how that will play out.
Like Rutherford, Mat actor Dónal Finn had nothing but glowing things to say about Ciaran Donnelly, the director who reportedly helms Episodes 301, 302, 307 and 308 (via WoTseries). That's half the season, so we can safely assume he directed Mat in multiple locations, including Tanchico.
"We had an amazing director that was across...the start of season 3, [Ciaran Donnelly], and I think he did an incredible job of carrying so much of the context and the feeling that we're left with at the end of season 2," Finn told us. "But also, you know we lately had a screening where we watched episodes one and two, and I think it keeps what season 2 had but it also has this kind of level of maturity...we get the sense that these people are getting older, and that they have to contend with more personally, and that the problems that they're facing [are] costing them more. As Marcus said, that there's more jeopardy."
"I just think that there's this shift in kind of tone that adds so much stake and so much weight to each character's individual journey, and that's what I really enjoyed about watching back the work, where I kind of felt there was...a step up in kind of stakes but also in the sense of action as well, I just think visually. Particularly...moments of action that come from the book, I think they've been so well-realized thanks to the directors across our season. "
It's hard to predict which book scenes Finn might be referring to, at least where Tanchico is concerned. But there is one we know for certain is coming for the gambling rogue this season: a duel with Gawyn (Luke Fetherston) and Galad (Callum Kerr) which features in the third book, The Dragon Reborn. Another member of The Wheel of Time team we talked to is showrunner Rafe Judkins, who confirmed that this scene is coming in season 3 — though it may not play exactly the same as it does in the novels.
A key book scene for Mat will appear in The Wheel of Time season 3
Mat's fight scene came up when we asked Judkins about his approach when it comes to adapting The Wheel of Time; specifically how the writers behind the show choose which scenes from the expansive book series make the cut, and which get left out.
"[F]or me, it's always about trying to find the emotional throughlines for the characters. That's the core that we always come back to, is 'do you need this thing from the books to understand this character's throughline?'" Judkins explained. "There's a few things beyond that that we'll still find a way to put in, like there's this fight scene in the books between Mat and Gawyn and Galad, Elayne's two brothers, that is so iconic in the book that we just can't not do it. And so for that we found a way to fit it into Mat's emotional throughline, and sort of like put the pieces together in it differently so that it became a very important part of Mat's emotional throughline."
Color me intrigued to see how the show handles this scene. It's one which often sparks debate among fans, so it feels like the sort of scene that's ripe for a glow-up during the adaption process.
It won't be long now before we get to watch it! The first three episodes of The Wheel of Time season 3 premiere March 13 on Prime Video, with new episodes following once a week afterward up until its finale on April 17. We'll have plenty more coverage for the series as its premiere date gets closer, including our full interview with Judkins and other cast members, so make sure to check back if you're as excited for The Wheel of Time as we are!
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.