Amazon’s Wheel Of Time Boss On What Changes Were Made, Weaving The Books Into An Epic TV Series

Amazon’s adaptation of the contemporary fantasy epic The Wheel of Time has been long coming. Originally, NBC had obtained the rights for a television series back in 2000, and then Universal grabbed them in 2008 for a film, but obviously neither materialized. There was also a video game in the late ’90s and even a TV pilot that was filmed, mostly to allow production company Red Eagle to retain the rights.

Now, a live-action Wheel of time exists and is ready to premiere on Amazon Prime Video on November 19. However, according to showrunner, Rafe Judkins–a former Survivor contestant and a self-proclaimed huge fan of the book series–some changes needed to be made from the source material, which spans over 14 books.

Speaking to GameSpot, Judkins provided some insight on the biggest moments of the show, and the reasoning behind the biggest changes, namely the aging up of the Two Rivers Five: Rand, Egwene, Mat, Perring, and Nynaeve. In the books, the main characters range from 15 to 26, with Nynaeve being the oldest and Egwene about to turn 16. In the Amazon series, they’re marginally older, and for good reason.

“If we had aged the characters as they were in the books, it would make the show register in a slightly different space than what we experienced in the books when we read them,” Judkins explained. “It was in the same space as Lord of the Rings rather than Hunger Games or Shadow and Bone, so I think it was a very conscious decision to age up the characters a few years and to make sure the show felt as ‘adult’ as the books did as we read them.”

The mystical and magical element of the series comes from the mysterious One Power that is wielded by the even more mysterious women known as Aes Sedai. Men were once allowed to become Aes Sedai, but the Power has since been tainted and men who can “channel” it are hunted down and feared.

In the series, the inner workings of the Aes Sedai are largely kept secret, but there’s something of a stigma attached to being part of that sisterhood. When Moiraine and Lan are introduced in the first episode, as they enter the Two Rivers, there’s tension in the air, but Judkins said when constructing the Aes Sedai’s place in the world, it’s going to differ from land to land.

“I think we’ve tried to limit it a bit more so there’s not a lot of negative stigma attached to the Aes Sedai of the show. So we do see people knowing about them, but we don’t see everything, so they exist a little more mysteriously. We compared them as much as possible to how the Catholic Church functioned in medieval Europe and see them treated that way. You’ll see them treated across different cultures and places that the approach to the Aes Sedai is a little bit different. You’ll see that in the first season.”

However, Judkins also warned that we’ll also see places where they are not as welcoming to the Aes Sedai.

The heart of the story is Moiraine’s search for a being the Dragon Reborn. In the world of Wheel of Time, reincarnation is at the core of a universal belief that the Wheel will “reweave” certain souls into new bodies. The former Dragon broke the world and its rebirth will ignite the beginning of the end of the world.

One of Moiraine’s potential Dragons that she’s trying to find is Rand al’Thor, a farmer from Emond’s Field and one of fantasy’s biggest characters so casting him would be no easy feat. Judkins talked about how actor Josha Stradowski landed the role, as well as the casting process for the main cast.

“During the casting process, we had each [member] of the cast–who made it to the final part of the process– read a scene from the pilot and who their character might become years down the line.” Judkins explained it was to see if these actors had “the ability to take these characters where [they need] to go. Josha was the one who perfectly delivered both the Rand [we] meet in the Two Rivers at the start of the series and the Rand who he grows into and becomes.”

Previously, Judkins explained on Twitter that the first season of Wheel of Time isn’t just the first book of the novel series. It’s also Book Two and some crossovers. Still, there is quite a bit that wasn’t able to be included due to time constraints.

“I mean I could give you 40-minute interviews of things that I wish we had included but can’t,” he said laughing. “But a lot of it was about trying to approach the adaptation of the whole series versus just the Eye of the World and a lot of that involved was to make sure we’re delivering an ensemble story and making sure we’re setting up a world where we can achieve production-wise in the first season and make everything as spectacular as it should look.”

He added that most of the choices were either geared towards that mentality or the overall decision to adapt the series–the feel of the series–as opposed to the feel of the first book for the first season.

“We also had production practicalities to address,” he added. Still, Judkins hasn’t had time to feel the pressure of the first season premiere as Amazon had already greenlit a second season, and he’s got his hands in both productions at the moment. “It’s interesting that we’re now getting to this phase as it gets ready to go out into the world,” he said. “It’s been so much hard work to try and get the series across the line to be able to get the money to make it…all I wanted was to make this series come to life and there are so many things to do to actually get it on the screen.”

“The fact that we’re already digging in on Season 2 and talking about potential seasons moving forward, it’s all starting to roll down fairly quickly now. It’s really thrilling given the number of years I’ve waited for this moment,” he said excitedly.

Amazon’s The Wheel of Time premieres on November 19.

Source: https://www.gamespot.com/articles/amazons-wheel-of-time-boss-on-what-changes-were-made-weaving-the-books-into-an-epic-tv-series/1100-6497754/?ftag=CAD-01-10abi2f