Amazon is doubling down on “Wheel of Time,” giving the fantasy series a very early Season 2 renewal. The series, which is based on Robert Jordan’s best-selling novels, just finished production on its debut season in the Czech Republic.
The series does not yet have a premiere date.
Rosamund Pike stars as the series’ central character, Moiraine, a member of a powerful all-female organization called the Aes Sedai, who “embarks on a dangerous, world-spanning journey with five young men and women, one of whom is prophesied to be the Dragon Reborn, who will either save or destroy humanity.”
The cast includes Madeleine Madden, Marcus Rutherford, Barney Harris, Zoë Robins, Josha Stradowski, Alvaro Morte, Hammed Animashaun, Alexandre Willaume, Sophie Okonedo, Kae Alexander and Johann Myers.
Ordered to series in 2018 as an Amazon Studios-Sony Pictures Television co-production, “Wheel of Time” is being adapted for television by “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s” Rafe Judkins, who will serve as executive producer and showrunner. Larry Mondragon and Rick Selvage of Red Eagle Entertainment, Ted Field and Mike Weber of Radar Pictures, Darren Lemke, Marigo Kehoe and Uta Briesewitz will also serve as executive producers. Briesewitz is set to direct the first two episodes.
“The belief Amazon Studios and Sony Pictures Television have shown in ‘The Wheel of Time’ has been incredible to see throughout the entire process of making this show. Getting a second season order before the first season has even premiered is such a vote of confidence in the work we are doing and the property itself, and we couldn’t be happier to be able to continue to live and work in the world Robert Jordan created,” showrunner and executive producer Rafe Judkins said. “This property is one I’ve loved since I was a teenager, and seeing it brought to life with the resources to make it truly worthy of what’s on the page is something I can’t wait for the other fans of the books to see. And Season 2 just keeps expanding the world we built in Season 1.”
Vernon Sanders, co-head of television at Amazon Studios, added, “’The Wheel of Time’ is a beloved series of fantasy novels from Robert Jordan, renowned for the rich world and diverse characters he created. The approach Rafe and his team have taken with this project is a testament to Amazon Studios commitment to deliver something special for the devoted fans around the world. In partnership with the team at Sony Pictures Television, we wanted our Prime Video customers to be delighted that a second season is already in the works so that they would know that the journey would continue.”
“The Wheel of Time” is a series of 14 novels that began with “The Eye of the World” in 1990 and concluded with “A Memory of Light,” which was finished by Brandon Sanderson following Jordan’s death in 2007. A number of attempts have been made to adapt the books for film or television, though none have made it to screen in any meaningful way. FXX quietly aired a pilot, titled “Winter’s Dragon,” as recently as 2015, but did so without any publicity or build-up and allowed the project to fade into obscurity.
“From the moment we pitched the Amazon Studios team, we realized they shared the same excitement as we did about this brilliant project based on Robert Jordan’s series of best-selling novels and that we were all creating a very special and extraordinary spectacle,” Jeff Frost, president of Sony Pictures Television, said. “Receiving a second season pickup right after wrapping Season 1, exemplifies their dedication to and belief in this series. We can’t wait for audiences globally to experience the magic that Rafe, our other talented producers, Rosamund and the rest of the cast and crew have created.”
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