The Wheel of Time spoilers follow.
The Wheel of Time is going to keep on turning for quite some time because Amazon Prime Video already confirmed a renewal six months before the show even made its debut in November 2021.
Just before the first finale aired, TVLine chatted to Vernon Sanders, Amazon Studios’ Head of Global TV, about the reasons behind this early announcement:
“We’re fans of the show, and as episodes come in and we saw the level of craftsmanship, and as we continued to talk to [showrunner] Rafe [Judkins] about where future seasons would go, we felt really confident that we had something that could go for a very long time for us. These are giant investments, so obviously we spent quite a bit of time making sure we were making the right choice here, but it continues to pay off for us. All credit to Rafe and his incredible team, and the cast led by Rosamund [Pike as Moiraine].”
Those investments are already paying off, because The Wheel of Time is now Amazon Prime Video’s most-watched original series of 2021. This bodes extremely well for season two, which will continue to draw inspiration from the original book series by author Robert Jordan.
Join us here at Digital Spy as we cast a spell of foresight and figure out what’s coming next for Rosamund Pike’s Moiraine and all her magic buddies in The Wheel of Time season two.
The Wheel of Time season 2 release date: When will it air on Amazon Prime Video?
Amazon hasn’t revealed exactly when The Wheel of Time season two will air just yet, but filming has been going on since July 2021, so we wouldn’t be surprised if new episodes arrive by Spring or Summer 2022.
On December 22, 2021, Vernon Sanders shared a new update on season two (via TVLine): “Rafe [Judkins] and his team just sent us their first cuts of the first episodes of season 2, and I cannot wait for the audience to see what we have in store.”
When asked if Amazon plans to air season two alongside the Lord of the Rings prequel series (which starts on September 2, 2022), Sanders had this to say:
“We are going to be really thoughtful about how we release these shows. In our minds, they are very different shows, but we are cognisant of our genre fans, and we are excited about the collection of content we have — those two, along with The Expanse and The Boys, Carnival Row is coming back, we have a fantastic show with [Westworld creators] Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy called The Peripheral…. We are very excited about the future.”
The Wheel of Time season 2 cast: Who is returning?
As The Wheel of Time’s lead actor, Rosamund Pike will definitely return in the role of Moiraine Damodred for season two.
She’ll be joined by a number of new cast members including: The Amazing World of Emma’s Ceara Coveney, Broadchurch’s Meera Syal, and Peaky Blinders star Natasha O’Keeffe. Those three will appear alongside actors Guy Roberts, Arnas Fedaravicius, and Gregg Chillingirian, all of whom are set to play recurring roles in season two.
The rest of season one’s cast should also be returning, aside from one big exception. Mat Cauthon, originally played by Barney Harris, has been recast with The Witcher actor Dónal Finn.
When asked why this has happened, showrunner Rafe Judkins declined to elaborate, but he did tell Deadline that audiences won’t find this switch too jarring. “It’s always hard but we’re really lucky that Barney is so great in the first season; I love him in the show,” he said. “And Dónal Finn, who is playing Mat in Season 2, is amazing. I have seen him up on set doing his scenes now and they’re incredible and they fully capture the character.”
The Wheel of Time season 2 plot: What will happen?
When TVLine asked about season two and whether it’s going to “go even bigger” than the first season, Vernon Sanders gave a very promising response for fans who are eager to see what’s coming next.
He said: “Rafe has been a fantastic leader — thoughtful, kind, really dedicated to trying to do this the right way — and Rosamund as well. So we absolutely went into season 2 with a real conversation about, ‘What can we do even better now that we have introduced this giant world and established these characters?’ So I will absolutely predict that Season 2 will be bigger, bolder, and a more expansive Wheel of Time.”
Bigger, bolder, and more expansive is exactly what this show needs to be moving forward because there are 14 novels in the original series, and that’s a lot of material to sort through.
The first season covers off the first book, The Eye of the World, and you can buy the second book, The Great Hunt here, as well as the full boxset, or just the first three novels.
Thankfully, showrunner Rafe Judkins seems to be more than up to the challenge, as he told Deadline he sees the show running for eight potential seasons, saying: “I always have to approach it as if we’re going to get to tell the whole story that’s in the books. If we don’t approach it that way, then we’d set ourselves up to not stick the landing, and these books have such a good ending.
“I really need to set us up to get there if we’re able to. That’s not up to me ultimately. If people watch it and Amazon wants to keep doing more, I’d love to continue to expand this world further.”
The Wheel of Time season 2 trailer: When can I watch it?
As filming for season two began before the first season even finished airing on Amazon Prime Video, new footage should be coming sooner rather than later. Our guess is that a teaser will make its way online by Spring 2022. And when it does, you can bet your fantasy-loving ass that this trailer will be featured here on Digital Spy.
The Wheel of Time is available to watch on Amazon Prime Video, with new episodes released weekly on Fridays.
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