Wheel of Time: TV series pressing ahead

Sony Pictures Television is now officially moving forward with a serial adaptation, producing the project along with Radar Pictures and Red Eagle Entertainment.

Of course, we expect this to he an endeavour of large scale, since these novels build and intricate mythology governed by the titular Wheel Of Time that is powered by the universe itself.

A bit like the Force in Star Wars, it is a binary power used by gifted people who are called “channelers”. And as the story spreads throughout epochs in the continuing fight against the Dark One, or Shai’tan, the dark exerts its influence on the malleable to lead the Source towards evil.

So, in order to do this, Sony will have to invest some serious cash for effects and cast. Series’ fans have been dreaming of a television series for years, and it cannot be a disappointment.

Sony officials said that The Wheel of Time will be run by Rafe Judkins, who took on duties as a writer and executive producer. Rafe is not a stranger to this genre of television, he served as a producer on ABC’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Marvel series, and the Netflix’s Hemlock Grove horror series. Also, he was the story editor for the NBC’s beloved spy series Chuck.

>>83816469
I just can't imagine them getting this right. Too expensive and too many fucking books. The audiobooks alone are probably 600 hours long all together.

>>83817432
Well, the narrative in the books is prolix but pages of descriptions of dresses, streets, statues, objects, etc. will translate to extensive costuming but not much screen time, and the rest of the bulk is character introspection which also won't occupy much time in a screen translation. The events in the main sequence (The Eye of the World through A Memory of Light, excluding New Spring) take place over only two years. Wish it were anime though.

Rick Selvage and Larry Mondragon of Red Eagle will also join Judkins, as well as producers Mike Weber and Ted Field of Radar Pictures. Also onboard, will be Jordan’s widow, Harriet McDougal as a consulting producer, since she is in charge of the property’s authorial legacy. We still have no precise dates, or even years for this show’s premiere, but our guess is that it will take up to two years for everything to be prepared. Let’s hope for the best.

This show was always in question, as there were many starts and stops dating all the way to 2000 when Robert Jordan was still alive. There was even a pilot called Winter Dragon that starred Billy Zane and Max Ryan. It aired on FXX on February 2015, but at 1,30am and to no fanfare or result.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUQE0-G_GeU

So, how is this time any different? Well, this time, McDougal herself made ripples in the media last April when she announced exciting news about the property, something that according to her needed clearing of some legal issues before moving on. Her latest update indicates that those issues have been resolved, and McDougal now speculates that The Wheel of Time will become a “cutting edge TV series”.

The fans, though, are careful not to get too excited, even though they simply cannot wait for the series to come to fruition, they are still apprehensive at the prospect. At the time when fantasy started to make its own place in the mainstream media, it’s the perfect time for this TV series. And, as television is finally breaking out of the old attitude that it is inferior to the cinema, truly high-quality series are popping up everywhere, with great actors starring, it means that we can expect to see a really good cast in it!

And here we are. Even though the cast will most probably be filled with amazing actors, there is a chance that those people will look nothing like characters from the books did – this might turn fans away from the television series.

Also, the channeling (Force-like use of power) should not look like channelers are constipated, or in pain while using their powers. This is very usual in fantasy shows, and fans are despising it in advance and hoping that Judkins will find a better way to bring these parts of the story to life.

So, yeah, there are many potential problems, but that is not making our hype any smaller! We simply cannot wait for more news about this upcoming TV series!