Wheel Of Time Season 2 Will Cover Story Arcs From Books 2 & 3 In Only 8 Episodes - Exclusive
Anyone who is remotely familiar with Robert Jordan's "The Wheel of Time" series knows that there is a lot of material to read through. The prolific author's story spans 14 massive volumes, three of which had to be completed by fellow fantasy author Brandon Sanderson when Jordan passed away before completing his gargantuan task.
With so much source material available — many of the books are around the thousand-page mark — the team at Amazon Studios has their work cut out for them. It will be a challenge to adapt the entire story into an on-screen narrative that will likely span much fewer than 14 seasons. Each of the first two seasons has offered eight episodes so far, giving the writers a narrow window within which to fit so much content.
In a recent exclusive interview during the lead-up to the premiere of Season 2, Looper was invited to talk to three of the show's producers on set at Jordan Studios in Prague. During the conversation, we pointed out that Season 1 followed Book 1 pretty closely (as far as major story arcs go) and asked how they intended to fit so many books into their limited number of seasons moving forward.
Producer Holger Reibiger provided a straightforward answer: "Season 2 is based on Book 2 and part of Book 3." He followed up with a comment on the process of cramming so much source material into such a short space, adding, "If you think about how much source material it is to fit that into eight episodes, it's quite challenging. You try to pick the best moments and create as best as possible."
Picking favorite storylines, dramatic moments, and similar story arcs
Along with an enormous pile of content, Robert Jordan's novels also contain over 2,700 named characters, and the story is told from nearly 150 different points of view. When we asked Executive Producer Mike Weber how they planned on distilling that down to a manageable number for an on-screen adaption, his response echoed Reibiger's. "It's like Holger was saying: You pick your favorites, and you focus on them," Weber said. "That's what Rafe [Judkins, the showrunner] and the writers have done. You zero in on the most dramatic, the most emotional, the most action-oriented points of view, and you tell the story through their eyes, for the most part. That's easier for an audience to engage through."
Executive Producer Marigo Kehoe also chimed in on the "too much content for too little time" question by pointing out that "Rafe spoke to Brandon Sanderson about this. Book 2 and Book 3 have quite a similar arc ... so it was quite an easy fit to have the two joined to a degree." Each "Wheel of Time" book marches to the beat of its own drum. However, there are some similarities in pacing and story that take place in the second and third books, making it easier to line up the two into a single season.
The question is, will that kind of pacing repeat itself for future seasons? If not, are we looking at a 14-season show, or will we start seeing major portions of the story slashed and burned as we move forward? Only time will tell. For now, audiences are in the midst of the sweet-and-condensed version of Books 2 and 3 as Season 2 races toward its epic finale.
New episodes of "Wheel of Time" premiere Fridays on Prime Video.