We can safely assume that The Wheel of Time is Amazon studios’ response to the major shows in this genre from other studios, like HBO’s Game of Thrones or Netflix’s The Witcher. Amazon is investing heavily in the fantasy genre. The firm already has a Lord of the Rings series in the works. And with The Wheel of Time, they’re about to add another huge realm to their arsenal. The show is based on Robert Jordan‘s novel series of the same name. The adaptation of the novel promises to be an epic tale of drama, magic, and war.
Rafe Judkins, who also serves as the show runner, developed this series. On November 19, 2021, the first season will debut on Amazon Prime Video. Although the studio is yet to announce a date for the release of the second season, it has already been under production since the month of July of this year.
Rosamund Pike, the Golden Globe-winning actress, leads a star-studded cast in The Wheel of Time. In addition to her, the main cast also includes Josha Stradowski, Madeleine Madden, Marcus Rutherford, Zoë Robins, Barney Harris, and Daniel Henney.
Major characters from Season 1 :
Rosamund Pike as Moiraine Damodred : Moiraine is a powerful magic-user, who is also an Aes Sedai of the Blue Ajah. She dedicates her life and arrives at the Two Rivers to find the Dragon Reborn, who is an eschatological figure prophesied to save or destroy humanity in the Last Battle.
Josha Stradowski as Rand al’Thor : Rand is a young sheepherder and farmer from the Two Rivers area. He’ll be the primary character of the show, and the tale will start with his lowly beginnings.
Madeleine Madden as Egwene al’Vere : Egwene is the youngest daughter of the mayor of Emond’s Field. She’s been very close to Rand for a long time.
Marcus Rutherford as Perrin Aybara : Perrin is a young guy from Emond’s Field, who works as an apprentice to the local blacksmith. He is a good friend of Rand.
Zoë Robins as Nynaeve al’Meara : Nynaeve is Emond’s Field’s ‘Wisdom‘. A ‘Wisdom‘ is a person chosen by the village council to sit among the villagers and impart wisdom and counsel on matters that affect them. Despite being wise, she is also a fierce and determined young woman.
Barney Harris as Matrim Cauthon : Mat is a young farmer from the Two Rivers. He is friends with Rand and Perrin since childhood.
Daniel Henney as al’Lan Mandragoran : Lan is Moiraine’s Warder. Warders are warriors who serve an Aes Sedai as their personal bodyguard and confidant.
Other notable characters to appear on the show are :
Jennifer Cheon Garcia’s Leane Sharif, Priyanka Bose’s Alanna Mosvani, Kate Fleetwood’s Liandrin Guirale, Sophie Okonedo’s Siuan Sanche and Clare Perkins’ Kerene Nagashi are the other members of the Aes Sedai, besides Moiraine.
Michael McElhatton appears as Tam al’Thor, father of Rand al’Thor.
Illa, Aram, and Raen are played by Maria Doyle Kennedy, Daryl McCormack, and Narinder Samra respectively. These three belong to the Tinkers, a nomadic tribe.
Eamon Valda and Geofram Bornhald are two Whitecloaks played by Abdul Salis and Stuart Graham. The Whitecloaks, also known as the ‘Children of the Light‘, are a militaristic band of soldiers hell-bent on eradicating evil at any cost.
Backstory of the Wheel of Time
At this time, it’s unclear how closely the program will follow the events from the novel. The general idea must be something along these lines:
A prophecy states that – a being, known as the Dragon, will be reincarnated. This reincarnation, also known as ‘Dragon Reborn’, has the potential to either or destroy the planet. Moiraine and Lan are on the lookout for this event, when they come across three young men named Rand al’Thor, Perrin Aybara, and Mat Cauthon. She takes all three of them on a quest since she can’t figure out which one of them is the foretold warrior. Nynaeve al’Meara and Egwene al’Vere join them and they all set out for an adventure of a lifetime.
The trailer looks promising and the fans of this beautiful novel must be ecstatic seeing their favorite characters come to life. The date is 19th November 2021. See you there!
