Amazon Orders Epic Fantasy Drama Based On ‘The Wheel of Time’ Novels
Amazon has given a series order to an adaptation of ‘The Wheel of Time‘ high fantasy novels, written by James Oliver Rigney, Jr., under the pseudonym Robert Jordan, the streaming service has announced.
‘The Wheel of Time’ is set in a sprawling, epic world where magic exists, but only women can use it. Meaning that, in this series, women hold the keys to power. The story follows Moiraine, a member of the shadowy and influential all-female organization called the ‘Aes Sedai’ as she embarks on a dangerous, world-spanning journey with five young men and women. Moiraine’s interested in these five because she believes one of them might be the reincarnation of an incredibly powerful individual, whom prophecies say will either save humanity or destroy it.
The drama comes from writer/producer Rafe Judkins, whose previous work includes ‘Agents Of SHIELD’ and ‘Chuck’. He will serve as showrunner and exec produce alongside Rick Selvage and Larry Mondragon of Red Eagle Entertainment, Ted Field and Mike Weber of Radar Pictures and Darren Lemke. Harriet McDougal is a consulting producer. Sony Pictures Television and Amazon Studios will produce the series.
“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,” commented Judkins. “And I couldn’t be more honoured 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.”
‘The Wheel of Time’ spans 14 novels in total, a number of which landed on the New York Times Best Seller list. The entire series was also nominated for a Hugo award and has sold 80 million copies worldwide, making it the largest selling fantasy series after ‘Lord Of The Rings’… Which Amazon are also turning into a tv series.
“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,” adds Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon Studios. “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.”
No news yet on when ‘The Wheel of Time‘ will land on Amazon, but we’ll let you know when we hear more.
