The Wheel of Time: Everything we know so far

Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time is a high fantasy epic, spanning 14 books and a prequel novella. The story features hundreds of characters and points of view, but it primarily focuses on the exploits of three boys: Rand al’Thor, Matrim Cauthon, and Perrin Aybara. 

The first book, The Eye of the World, released 30 years ago in 1990 and the series is finally being adapted for the screen. Amazon is taking the lead, bringing Jordan’s vision to life. Details have slowly dripped out since the announcement, such as some of the cast members and even a couple of teaser trailers.

With season 1 planned to release this year, hype for The Wheel of Time is building among fans (myself included). In fact, we expect to hear more news about the show at Comic-Con — Amazon missed a great opportunity to spill more of the beans at the annual JordanCon that just wrapped up.

So here’s everything we know about the latest fantasy epic coming to Prime Video.

The Wheel of Time season 1 release date window

We don’t have an official release date for the first episode just yet. However, Amazon has confirmed that The Wheel of Time will premiere sometime in 2021. Check out the announcement tweet . That obviously means it could arrive any time between now and the end of the year; we’ll update this article once we know more.

The Wheel of Time season 1 latest news (updated July 20)

Amazon commissioned The Wheel of Time TV series back in 2018, headed by showrunner Rafe Judkins (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Chuck). Season 1’s filming and production began in the Czech Republic, but the COVID-19 pandemic brought things to a halt. Once the world started to open back up again, the crew resumed production.

Season 1 is in the final stages with a scheduled release year of 2021. 

The first season will consist of eight episodes with four different directors. Uta Briesewitz will direct the first two, Wayne Yip the third and fourth episodes, Salli Richardson-Whitfield the fifth and sixth, and Ciaran Donnelly the final two episodes.

Based on what we know so far, Judkins himself has written the pilot episode, but each episode thereafter has its own writer.

The Wheel of Time season 1 episodes

We know the titles of the first six episodes of The Wheel of Time’s first season. 

• The Wheel of Time season 1, episode 1, “Leavetaking”
• The Wheel of Time season 1, episode 2, “Shadow’s Waiting”
• The Wheel of Time season 1, episode 3, “A Place of Safety”
• The Wheel of Time season 1, episode 4, “The Dragon Reborn”
• The Wheel of Time season 1, episode 5, “Blood Calls Blood”
• The Wheel of Time season 1, episode 6, ” The Flame of Tar Valon”

The Wheel of Time season 1 cast

The Wheel of Time is known, in part, for its incredible variety of characters. Amazon has revealed the main cast for The Wheel of Time, led by Rosamund Pike as the mystical Moiraine Damodred, a member of the Aes Sedai order. Aes Sedai are women who wield the One Power and serve as The Wheel of Time’s magic users — men who wield magic are hunted down and captured.

Here are the castings we know so far.

• Rosamund Pike as Moiraine Damodred, Aes Sedai and leader of the party who leave Emond’s Field
• Daniel Henny as al’Lan Mandragoran, Moiraine’s warder and guardian
• Josha Stradowski as Rand al’Thor, farm boy and the fabled Dragon Reborn
• Barney Harris as Mat Cauthon, the trickster and ne’er-do-well of the party
• Marcus Rutherford as Perrin Aybara, the soft-spoken blacksmith’s apprentice
• Madeleine Madden as Egwene al’Vere, the mayor’s daughter and a woman destined for greatness
• Zoë Robins as Nynaeve al’Meara, village wisewoman with a sharp tongue
• Michael McElhatton as Tam Al’Thor, Rand’s stalwart father
• Hammed Animashun as Loial, a loyal friend throughout the series
• Alvaro Morte as Logain Ablar, one who aspires to the name Dragon Reborn
• Alexandre Willaume as Thom Merrilin, the gleeman (bard) who takes the young ones under his wing
• Johann Myers as Padan Fain, the dark and twisted servant of the Dark One
• Michael Tuahine as Bran Al’Vere, the mayor of Emond’s Field
• Lolita Chakrabarti as Marin Al’Vere, the mayor’s wife
• David Sterne as Cenn Buie, the village thatcher
• Christopher Sciueref as Abell Cauthon, Mat’s father
• Juliet Howland as Natti Cauthon, Mat’s mother
• Mandi Symonds as Daise Congar/er, a member of the village’s Womens Circle
• Kae Alexander as Min Farshaw who gets wrapped up in Rand’s fate
• Abdul Salis as Eamon Valda, an officer in the religious paramilitary Children of the Light
• Stuart Graham as Geofram Bornhald, another Children of the Light officer
• Pasha Bocarie as Master Grinwell, a farmer that Rand meets on his journey
• Jennifer Preston as Mistress Grinwell, Master Grinwell’s wife
• Izuka Hoyle as Dana
• Darren Clarke as Basel Gill, a friendly innkeeper
• Narinder Samra as Raen, one of traveling Tinkers
• Maria Doyle Kennedy as Ila, Raen’s wife
• Daryl McCormack as Aram, Raen and Ila’s grandson
• Sophie Okonedo as Siuan Sanche, the Amyrlin Seat and leader of the Aes Sedai
• Priyanka Bose as Alanna Mosvani, an Aes Sedai of the Green Ajah
• Emmanuel Imani as Ihvon, one of Alanna’s warders
• Taylor Napier at Maksim, Alanna’s other warder
• Jennifer Cheon Garcia as Leane Sharif, Keeper of the Chronicles and assistant to the Amyrlin Seat
• Kate Fleetwood as Liandrin Guirale, an Aes Sedai of the Red Ajah
• Clare Perkins as Kerene Nagashi, an Aes Sedai and the Captain-General of the Green Ajah
• Peter Franzén as Stepin, Kerene’s warder

The Wheel of Time season 1 teaser trailers and speculation 

There is no official trailer for The Wheel of Time as of yet, only teaser trailers and images that Amazon has let trickle out to keep fans excited. 

We do, however, expect a trailer to come soon. Showrunner Rafe Judkins did hint that we’ll see one sometime this summer. That leaves the rest of July, all of August, and most of September, though. 

To kick things off, here’s the official announcement video that says The Wheel of Time is coming in 2021. It doesn’t specify an actual date and there’s a lot of year left.

Moving on, we have the first teaser trailer showing Rosamund Pike as Moiraine. Check it out.

The next is a similarly teasing trailer showing Daniel Henny as Lan Mandragon.

Finally, next are the few teasers that The Wheel of Time Twitter account has posted. The first is a glimpse of the Winesping Inn in the village of Emond’s Field, the village where Moiraine and Lan meet the main characters before the world turns upside down.

The second video shows the design process for one of the weapons in The Wheel of Time. This is the heron-marked sword that Rand’s father gives to him. Heron-marked blades signify a blademaster in The Wheel of Time’s world. We don’t want to spoil anything else for you, though.

This next clip is a visual representation of saidin and saidar, the male and female halves of the One Power. This the magic system in the world of The Wheel of Time and is the driving force of many of the series’ events. Saidin has been corrupted by the Dark One, cursing all men who wield to eventually go mad. The yin-yang symbolism is important in The Wheel of Time’s story.

This video shows off the ruby dagger, a “treasure” that Mat Cauthon finds and takes from the evil and cursed city called Shadar Logoth. It plays a critical role in the events of the first book and several of the others thereafter. It links Mat to the twisted Padan Fain.

The Wheel of Time season 2

In other news, Amazon has renewed The Wheel of Time for a second season already.  Word on filming and production remains sparse right now, but news about it will likely come later in the year or next year.

Amazon did just announce that filming for season 2 started on July 19, 2021.