Fans in attendance of NYCC’s Wheel of Time panel go to see an exclusive clip from the upcoming series. In it we see Rosamund Pike’s Moiraine enter the Two Rivers for the first time. Just the presence of Moraine and Daniel Henney’s al’Lan Mandragoran is enough to make everyone in the inn stop what they’re doing and stare. After the clip, Nerdist’s managing editor Amy Ratcliffe moderated a panel with Showrunner Rafe Judkins and cast members Pike, Henney, Joshua Stradowski, Marcus Rutherford, Zoe Robbins, and Madeleine Madden.
Judkins began the panel by describing how much the books meant to not only him but to millions of fans around the world. He wanted to bring the heart of the series to the screen and spoke to the importance of making people feel emotionally invested in the show even though not every aspect of the books may be covered. When we’re talking about a 14-book series, I don’t think anyone can blame the showrunner for leaving things out.
Rosamund Pike detailed what drew her to the show, saying she was intrigued by the role of a mysterious stranger and commented on how this type of character would usually be a man as opposed to a woman. Each woman who joins the show will be able to get her own chance to develop her own physicality of the magic in the Wheel of Time world, with Pike saying she thought the way she portrays magic “would make cool shots,” drawing laughter from the panel and crowd.
Each actor took turns complimenting the production crew, set designs, and costumes. Rutherford called the epic of the set and said, “they built a village basically out of nothing.” The topic of horses and horseback riding naturally came up as this is a fantasy show. Madden said her horse Archie may not have been the speediest of mounts, but was surely the “gassiest.”
Ratcliffe asked whom among the cast was farthest along in the series, with Stradowski answering he was on book eleven — and showed off his dog-eared mass-market copy. Robbins and Madden made it known they were close behind, however. Stradowski commented on how at the beginning of production reading scripts for the show and the books at the same time could become a bit confusing, but said it was “a gift” to have so much source material to pull from.
The panel ended with talk of season two. Judkins couldn’t give too much but said filming is currently happening. He revealed Ceara Coveney will be portraying Elayne Trakand and that Natasha O’Keeffe and Meera Syal will also be joining in undisclosed roles.
Wheel of Time premieres on Amazon on November 19th with the show’s first three episodes.
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