The Wheel of Time is a beloved fantasy series by author Robert Jordan. Yet, despite its continued popularity, the series has had a long road to being adapted. In 2000, the series was initially optioned by NBC, however, a project never came to fruition. Then four years later, Jordan sold the rights to the series to Red Eagle Entertainment. The sale included film, television, video game and comic rights. At the time of the sale, Red Eagle Entertainment assured fans it had plans to bring Jordan’s magical world to audiences worldwide.
Like with the NBC deal, though, things seemed to stall under Red Eagle Entertainment. In 2007, the author wrote a blog post showing his frustration at the lack of movement on a live-action film. Unfortunately, Jordan died about a month later. It wasn’t until 2008 that movement on a Wheel of Time film began to take place, with Universal optioning the title. No movie would come, though. Instead, as a surprise to everyone, Red Eagle Entertainment would go on to produce a ‘pilot’ for a Wheel of Time series. Unfortunately, it was an act merely to retain the rights. The pilot episode aired on FXX, technically fulfilling the contract to keep hold of the rights. However, FXX later admitted it was paid to air the supposed ‘pilot.’
Fast forward to 2016, the series looked to finally be happening, but as fans of the series know: nothing is ever set in stone. Just when they found themselves excited over the prospect of an adaption, something always got in the way. Luckily, this no longer was the case. The series would officially be ordered by Sony Television a year later, before moving to Amazon Studios in 2018.
In 2019, the first cast member for Wheel of Time was announced when actress Rosamund Pike joined the series. Since then, Amazon Studios has taken the time and effort to give the property the attention it rightfully deserves. While some details have been changed, the core of Wheel of Time has been captured finally on film for Jordan’s fans to revel in when the series later this month.
It was a long road to get here, but the Wheel of Time is finally coming.
