Octopus Overlords

The long-gestating “Wheel of Time” TV series adaptation is moving forward with Sony Pictures Television.
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Sony will produce along with Red Eagle Entertainment and Radar Pictures. Rafe Judkins is attached to write and executive produce. Judkins previously worked on shows such as ABC’s “Agents of SHIELD,” the Netflix series “Hemlock Grove,” and the NBC series “Chuck.” Red Eagle partners Rick Selvage and Larry Mondragon will executive produce along with Radar’s Ted Field and Mike Weber. Darren Lemke will also executive produce, with Jordan’s widow Harriet McDougal serving as consulting producer.

This is the first news on the series since April of last year, when McDougal shared an update on the planned adaptation online. “Wanted to share with you exciting news about ‘The Wheel of Time,’” she wrote on Google+. “Legal issues have been resolved. ‘The Wheel of Time’ will become a cutting edge TV series! I couldn’t be more pleased. Look for the official announcement coming soon from a major studio.”

An adaptation of “The Wheel of Time” novels has been in development in one form or another going back as far as 2000, but the projects mostly never made it past that stage. However, a pilot episode called “Winter Dragon” aired on FXX back in February 2015 starring Max Ryan and Billy Zane. It aired at 1:30 a.m. with no prior publicity. After the episode aired, McDougal released a statement saying she had no knowledge of it being produced.

Isgrimnur wrote:

Spoiler:

I thought we already had a thread on the ashcan pilot, but I can't find it.

Smoove_B wrote:

Isgrimnur wrote:

Spoiler:

I thought we already had a thread on the ashcan pilot, but I can't find it.

Not a thread, but an embedded discussion. If you'd like search tips, I can provide a few.

A recent Deadline interview with Jennifer Salke, the new head of Amazon Studios, confirmed what had been rumored for some time: A television adaptation of Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time series is one of the projects in development at the streaming service. While news broke in 2017 that Sony Pictures Television was adapting the series, with Rafe Judkins as showrunner, this interview confirms Amazon’s role in the adaptation.

The project gets one mention in the larger piece:

DEADLINE: What is the status of other high-profile genre projects that have been in early development at Amazon or stuck in deal-making limbo for a long time, The Wheel of Time (based on the fantasy books), and The Dark Tower (based on the book and the movie)?

SALKE: Those are scripts that I haven’t gotten yet. I’ll be seeing those, that material, in the coming weeks. None of those things are dead. They’re very much alive.

The Wheel of Time had been in the works at Amazon for about a year, with new Head of Amazon Studios Jennifer Salke telling Deadline in June that she was set to read the script over the summer and the project was “very much alive”.

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The Wheel of Time has taken its time to get to screen; the multi-volume fantasy epic was first published in 1990. NBC optioned the rights in 2000 but didn’t progress; Jordan sold the TV, film, video game and comic rights to Red Eagle in 2004. In 2015, Red Eagle paid air time to cable network FXX to air Winter Dragon, a 22-minute Billy Zane-fronted “pilot” for a potential The Wheel of Time series that allowed Red Eagle to hold on to the rights to the project, a situation that was resolved with the Robert Jordan Estate in 2016.

Jaymann wrote: Wed Oct 03, 2018 3:34 am Meh to the braid puller. Can we get on with Chronicles of Amber already...

RunningMn9 wrote: Wed Oct 03, 2018 9:19 am

Jaymann wrote: Wed Oct 03, 2018 3:34 am Meh to the braid puller. Can we get on with Chronicles of Amber already...

Wouldn't the point of the series be that they can just strip out all of the annoying repetitive stuff?

SANTA MONICA, Calif. — After greenlighting a TV adaptation of Robert Jordan’s high-fantasy series The Wheel Of Time, Amazon Studios announced they are committed to producing 328 seasons of the fourteen book fantasy epic with production already underway.

Showrunner Rafe Judkins assured fans that the show would be a faithful adaptation of the book series. “We’re committed to making a show that is true to the source material, which means starting off at a fast pace, inevitably slowing down as the story gets more complex and then having someone else take this baby to the finish line when I pass away around season 270.”

Judkins teased hardcore fans with a few story details about the third book’s Battle of Falme, which is planned to take place starting in season 68 and last for three full seasons.

“Sure, there’s going to be ten seasons with nothing but politics and dialogue,” he continued, “but when we reach Season 243 and everything from the last 1,944 hours of television finally comes together? You’re going to look back and think ‘Okay, this is epic.’”

Isgrimnur wrote: Mon Nov 05, 2018 5:02 pm The Hard Times

SANTA MONICA, Calif. — After greenlighting a TV adaptation of Robert Jordan’s high-fantasy series The Wheel Of Time, Amazon Studios announced they are committed to producing 328 seasons of the fourteen book fantasy epic with production already underway.

Showrunner Rafe Judkins assured fans that the show would be a faithful adaptation of the book series. “We’re committed to making a show that is true to the source material, which means starting off at a fast pace, inevitably slowing down as the story gets more complex and then having someone else take this baby to the finish line when I pass away around season 270.”

Judkins teased hardcore fans with a few story details about the third book’s Battle of Falme, which is planned to take place starting in season 68 and last for three full seasons.

“Sure, there’s going to be ten seasons with nothing but politics and dialogue,” he continued, “but when we reach Season 243 and everything from the last 1,944 hours of television finally comes together? You’re going to look back and think ‘Okay, this is epic.’”

The Wheel of Time, Amazon Studios’ forthcoming television adaptation of Robert Jordan’s epic fantasy series, will go into production starting in September 2019, according to the trade publication Production Weekly. Wheel of Time fan site The Daily Trolloc acquired a sample issue of the weekly publication from December 20, 2018, which lists the series among over a hundred other projects currently in development. Another notable detail is the location: the series will shoot at least in part in Prague, Czech Republic.

RunningMn9 wrote: Wed Oct 03, 2018 9:19 am

Jaymann wrote: Wed Oct 03, 2018 3:34 am Meh to the braid puller. Can we get on with Chronicles of Amber already...

Wouldn't the point of the series be that they can just strip out all of the annoying repetitive stuff?

Jeff V wrote: Fri Feb 01, 2019 12:25 pmI recently finished book one, what an excruciating experience. And people came back for more? Perhaps a more concise TV show will suffice as this badly needs abridgment. I don't think I can muster the will to read book 2.

RunningMn9 wrote: Fri Feb 01, 2019 12:27 pm

Jeff V wrote: Fri Feb 01, 2019 12:25 pmI recently finished book one, what an excruciating experience. And people came back for more? Perhaps a more concise TV show will suffice as this badly needs abridgment. I don't think I can muster the will to read book 2.

This is a *shocking* turn of events. My advice is to simply not read book 2 and to go about your life.

Jeff V wrote: Fri Feb 01, 2019 12:25 pm

RunningMn9 wrote: Wed Oct 03, 2018 9:19 am

Jaymann wrote: Wed Oct 03, 2018 3:34 am Meh to the braid puller. Can we get on with Chronicles of Amber already...

Wouldn't the point of the series be that they can just strip out all of the annoying repetitive stuff?

I recently finished book one, what an excruciating experience. And people came back for more? Perhaps a more concise TV show will suffice as this badly needs abridgment. I don't think I can muster the will to read book 2.

Jaymann wrote: Thu Jun 20, 2019 4:56 pm Is Moiraine the braid puller?

Jaymann wrote: Thu Jun 20, 2019 4:56 pm I only read the first three books, looks like a good thing I stopped there. Very few series merit a fourth, much less 10.

Josha Stradowski has been cast in the role of Rand al’Thor, with Marcus Rutherford set to play Perrin Aybara and Zoë Robins playing Nynaeve. In addition, Barney Harris will play Mat Cauthon and Madeleine Madden will play Egwene Al’Vere. They join previously announced cast member Rosamund Pike.

Zaxxon wrote: Wed Aug 14, 2019 7:36 pm And the official announcements:

Isgrimnur wrote:Yes. Although it’s supposed to be only one.

Jaymann wrote: Wed Aug 14, 2019 8:07 pm

Zaxxon wrote: Wed Aug 14, 2019 7:36 pm And the official announcements:

Is SHE the braid puller?

Hyena wrote:

Jaymann wrote: Wed Aug 14, 2019 8:07 pm

Zaxxon wrote: Wed Aug 14, 2019 7:36 pm And the official announcements:

Is SHE the braid puller?

Well then she's a smokin' hot braid puller

Zaxxon wrote: Wed Aug 14, 2019 7:36 pm And the official announcements:

Blackhawk wrote: Thu Aug 15, 2019 2:53 pm I also appreciate them reimaging them a little. At the same time, it always feels odd when a series or film shows distinct races in a small, isolated community where nobody comes and goes for generations.

YellowKing wrote: Thu Aug 15, 2019 12:26 pm I found it really interesting that the actors for Perrin, Nynaeve, and Egwene closely resemble the "white versions" I had in my head when I was reading the book. I hope that doesn't come off sounding cringe-y, but let's face it. As a white guy, I default to white characters in my head when reading unless they're described otherwise. Particularly fantasy where there's traditionally been a scarcity of minorities.