Back in 2016 it was announced that Robert Jordan’s fantasy book series The Wheel of Time was in development as a TV series, with Sony Pictures Television subsequently boarding the project last year to produce alongside Red Eagle Entertainment and Radar Pictures.
Well, we now have some good news for fans of the high fantasy epic, as Deadline is reporting that Amazon Studios has officially ordered the project to series for its Amazon Prime Video service. Rafe Judkins (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) has adapted the source material, and also serves as showrunner.
The Wheel of Time series consists of 14 volumes and a prequel novel, which have sold over 90 million copies around the world, and takes place in a world where magic exists, but only women are able to use it. The story follows Moiraine, a member of the all-female ‘Aes Sedai’ organisation, who embarks on a quest to find The Dragon Reborn, a mythical figure prophesied to fight The Dark One – possibly breaking the world in the process.
“The Wheel of Time is endlessly fascinating and resonates hugely with fans as one of the best-selling global properties, and we were drawn to its timely narrative featuring powerful women at the core,” said Amazon’s Jennifer Salke. “We’re thrilled to extend our relationship with devotees who’ve found the book series transformative and welcome new ones by bringing it to life on Prime Video for viewers worldwide.”
“For so many people, including me, this book series has served as a world to escape to, to lose yourself in, to devour and inhabit completely,” added Judkins. “And I couldn’t be more honored to be the one finally bringing that world to life on screen, for old fans to lose themselves in all over again and new fans to discover for the very first time.”
It’s been a long road to the screen for The Wheel of Time, with the rights first picked up by NBC back in 2000 before passing on to Red Eagle in 2004. The latter produced Winter Dragon, a 22-minute “pilot” which aired on FXX in 2015 and was seen as an attempt to retain the rights which ultimately reverted to the Robert Jordan Estate in 2016.
