Amazon is finally pushing through with its plan to bring an adaptation of the literary fantasy from author Robert Jordan. "The Wheel of Time" TV series will begin principal photography on September with one confirmed filming location, the city of Prague in the Czech Republic.
Details of the production notice appeared in a recent Production Weekly schedule for Hollywood workers. Aside from the filming date and place, the notice also included the show's official synopsis.
"The Wheel of Time" takes place in a world where women are allowed to use magic. The show will follow the journey of the main character, Moraine.
She is a member of a powerful all-female organization called Aes Sedai. Moraine believes, however, that one of her companions is the reincarnation of a powerful person who will either be the savior or the end of humanity. Will Moraine be instrumental in fulfilling a prophecy or going against it?
Casting for "The Wheel of Time" has not yet been announced. But Amazon Studios has been developing the show for over a year with Rafe Judkins ("Agents of SHIELD") as the head writer, showrunner and executive producer.
Judkins said during the announcement of the series that he has been a big fan of "The Wheel of Time" books. He has been updating the progress of the script in posts on Instagram.
Amazon executive Sharon Tal Ygaudo acknowledged that this show will be a big undertaking given the depth of the material. Jordan published the first book in "The Wheel of Time" series in 1990. For the next 15 years, the author released 13 more books and one prequel story.
In 2000, NBC planned on adapting the books to television but nothing came out of the project. Jordan eventually sold the film rights of "The Wheel of Time" to Red Eagle Entertainment. But while he completed the last book in 2004, he would not see his work come alive on screen because the author died in 2007.
In 2015, an unofficial pilot for "The Wheel of Time," titled "Winter Dragon," aired on the cable network FXX. Starring Billy Zane ("Legends of Tomorrow") and Matt Ryan ("Constantine"), the episode ended in a lawsuit involving Jordan's widow, Harriet McDougal. The case, however, was settled out of court and McDougal currently serves as a consulting producer to the Amazon series.
"The Wheel of Time" on Amazon has no premiere date as of press time. Given the production timeline, the series will likely debut in late 2020.
