After years of waiting in limbo, the Wheel of Time TV series is moving forward with Sony Pictures Television.
Based on the popular long-running fantasy series by Robert Jordan, Wheel of Time is noted for its length, detailed magical world and highly developed characters. After Jordan’s death in 2007, longtime fan and fellow fantasy author Brandon Sanderson took up the helm to finish the last three books in the series. The series is also known for its dedicated fan base, who have been waiting years for this. Since the news broke yesterday, there’s been a huge amount of speculation on how the project is going to go down.
While Sony will provide much of the funding and resources for the show, it will be developed by a smaller production company that will probably be created specifically for the project, a la Bighead Littlehead for Game of Thrones. Sony will partner with a network or streaming service, such as AMC or Starz, to put together the rest of the budget. Judging from what little we know about the series, they’re going to need a pretty big sum of money to pull it off.
The TV adaptation will be directed by writer, producer and long-time Wheel of Time fan Rafe Judkins, who has worked on shows such as Hemlock Grove, Chuck and Agents of SHIELD. He also almost won Survivor in 2005, if that means anything. Jordan’s widow, Harriet McDougal, will serve as consulting producer. As for the cast or any plot information, we’ve got nothing, and it’ll probably be a little while before anything surfaces—though we’ll definitely be keeping an ear out.
Don’t miss Paste’s feature “Brandon Sanderson: Heralding a New Era of Fantasy.” Also, we found this handy YouTube video: “Wheel of Time in 60 Seconds: What You Need To know.” It’s got major spoilers, obviously, but if you want a very, very quick recap, watch below.