The Wheel Of Time S2: Rosamund Pike Walked A Tightrope Between Fantasy & Humanity - Exclusive Interview
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This interview was conducted prior to the beginning of the SAG-AFTRA strike.
Prime Video's epic series "The Wheel of Time" returns for its second season on September 1, and fans are sure to be delighted by the continuation of the incredible fantasy series. Based on Robert Jordan's popular book series, "The Wheel of Time" follows Rand al'Thor (Josha Stradowski), who finds out that he is The Dragon Reborn, and that he either has the ability to save the world or completely destroy it. A battle between good and evil ensues, with Season 2 taking Rand further afield in his quest to defeat the Dark One.
Stradowski is joined by "Gone Girl" icon Rosamund Pike in the show, along with Daniel Henney, Zoë Robins, Madeleine Madden, and Ceara Coveney. Josha Stradowski and Rosamund Pike sat down with Looper to discuss the second season of "The Wheel of Time," their favorite guest stars, and what it's like filming a show that straddles the line between fantasy and humanity.
The next chapter of The Wheel of Time
How did it feel to return to the set and start telling the next chapter of the story?
Josha Stradowski: Amazing, right?
Rosamund Pike: To be in a hit show is a good feeling all around. It means the fans have voted in our favor. The audiences have come to the show, they've come to the platform. It would've been awful if we'd screwed it up because it's such a mighty world that [author] Robert Jordan created.
I want this show to be a library show for Amazon and be something that's rewatched in 20 years time, not just for now. I feel we have a duty to get to the end of the story. It feels really good to be announcing Season 2 and shooting Season 3 as we do so. Good places. Good times.
You've already been renewed for Season 3, so what can fans expect from the next season of the show?
Stradowski: I just came from set ... and tomorrow, I'll be on set again. It's amazing to see how the show is finding its form. It does feel like, just as in the books, it's something that lives and it's growing. We can now lean onto each other as actors, but also with the writers and the showrunner Rafe [Judkins]. That's a lot of fun. In the first season, we established the stuff and now we can be a bit more funky and get into it, and that's great.
Dream guest stars and filming fantasy
Do either of you have any dream guest stars that you'd love to appear on future seasons of the show?
Pike: We're getting a few. One of my dreams actually appeared in Season 2, which was Lindsay Duncan, who is one of our classiest British actresses. She comes into it in a very interesting way in Season 2. We've got some really great villains. We've got fantastic opportunities for people to come in and have a lot of fun. That's what our guest stars feel. I can't really be specific, sorry, but our guest stars feel it. They come in, they're given really meaty roles. They're given some of the best lines. Sometimes, we're envious of the guest stars' lines, aren't we?
Stradowski: Yeah, sometimes I'm jealous. They go in and out.
Pike: And they get fantastic costumes. What's not to love about that? I was just working with Sophie Okonedo again, and she'd just come from playing Medea in the West End. She said, "I love this show. I have the best time."
Were there any challenging moments filming a show that is so magical and is set in this other world?
Pike: It's always finding the sweet spot between the escapist fantasy that you want to offer up and the human drama within its framework. It's walking that tightrope. That's what we ultimately want. We want the grounded human emotion against the fantastical backdrop. It's a work in progress. We're always getting closer to that sweet spot, and Season 2 is definitely a step in the right direction.
Stradowski: Definitely. That's what is really beautiful. It's those moments where we can make it human, for example, by showing Moiraine's family. In the books, you don't really explore that kind of stuff. Showing that human side and showing more of the inner worlds and the histories of these characters, that's where the fruits lie and that's where we can go even further than the books.
"The Wheel of Time" Season 2 premieres on Prime Video on September 1, 2023.