After a number of false starts and at least one failed adaptation, fans of author Robert Jordan’s massive (and massively successful) Wheel of Time novel series finally got to see his vision come to life when Amazon Prime Video released The Wheel of Time on November 19, 2021. The action-packed drama wrapped on Christmas Eve, and audiences are now very eager to see how the adventures of Moiraine, Lan, Nynaeve, Egwene, Perrin, Rand, and Mat will continue after that explosive finale. And, we’re here to help! These are some quick things we already know about The Wheel of Time Season 2!
The Wheel Of Time Is Renewed For Season 2
Amazon clearly has a lot of faith in The Wheel of Time, as the streamer not only bet big on an expensive production, but decided to renew the high fantasy well before the public had gotten a taste of the series. The Wheel of Time was granted Season 2 way back in May of 2021, right after production on the freshman season ended.
The Wheel Of Time Season 2 Has Already Begun Filming
Knowing that Season 2 was already a sure thing likely helped the cast and crew a lot, because it meant that, once again, things were able to get rolling before the first season had even aired. The Wheel of Time official Twitter feed announced that filming started on July 19, 2021, four months before the premiere. Even better, as Season 1 was airing, Amazon announced (via Collider) that The Wheel of Time Season 2 was halfway through filming on November 24, 2021.
Several New Actors Have Joined The Wheel Of Time Cast
As Season 2 was filming, several new actors were announced to be joining in on the fun with The Wheel of Time cast. We don’t yet know who everyone will be portraying in the upcoming season, but early October 2021 saw Ceara Coveney (who’ll be playing Elayne Trakand), Natasha O’Keeffe, and Meera Syal added to the cast in some capacity. Meanwhile, early December brought word that new recurring players will be Guy Roberts (as Uno Nomesta), Arnas Fedaravicius (as Masema) and Gregg Chillingirian (as Ingtar Shinowa).
All Of The Season 1 Cast Is Expected To Return, With One Exception
Luckily for everyone who really enjoyed the chemistry between the stars of The Wheel of Time in Season 1, it’s expected that pretty much everyone whose character didn’t meet an untimely end in the main cast will return in the aftermath of the first big battles with the Dark One and his minions. This means we’ll see more of Rosamund Pike (Moiraine Damodred), Daniel Henney (Lan Mondragoran), Josha Stradowski (Rand al’Thor), Madeleine Madden (Egwene al’Vere), Marcus Rutherford (Perrin Aybara), and Zoë Robins (Nynaeve al’Meara).
But, it was revealed back in late September 2021, that Barney Harris (who played the easily led astray Mat Cauthon) would not be returning to the series. Harris was replaced by actor Dónal Finn (The Witcher), and while no reason has been given for the recasting, series showrunner Rafe Judkins noted that fans should expect the switch to be “seamless” on screen, mostly because of “how great the character of Mat is.”
The Wheel Of Time Season 2 Will Aim To Be Bigger And More Complex
Even if you’ve only watched a few episodes of The Wheel of Time so far, you can probably already recognize that the story is a complex, epic fantasy with lots of moving parts in a world that has magic, serious evil threats, and a number of characters who are (or will be) at cross purposes. Well, get ready, fans. According to both what Vernon Sanders, Amazon Studios’ Head of Global TV, and star Josha Stradowski have said, we can expect Season 2 to be even bigger for the Dragon Reborn and his heroic cohorts.
Sanders told TVLine that, with Amazon loving what they saw from Season 1, there were discussions about making sure that they did things “even better” in the upcoming season, and noted that “I will absolutely predict that Season 2 will be bigger, bolder, and a more expansive Wheel of Time.” Stradowski echoed those sentiments to the outlet, and said viewers will see that “the world does become more complex, and the stakes become even bigger.”
The Wheel Of Time Season 2 Won’t Just Follow Plots From Book 2
Trying to adapt any one novel for the screen can be a challenge, and that difficulty grows by leaps and bounds when you’re trying to do the same with an entire series of books. As you might imagine, The Wheel of Time posed an even greater challenge than most, seeing as how there are 14 books to attempt to bring to life. Showrunner Rafe Judkins has said that they’ve been using “compression” of several book details to keep the show on track, and that we’ll continue to see that in Season 2, noting to EW:
Fans of the books will see that some characters are diving more into their Book 2 [The Great Hunt] story in Season 2, and some of them are diving more into their Book 3 [The Dragon Reborn] story in Season 2. We have to tell stories so efficiently on the show because we’re trying to do 17,000 pages.
I’m totally down with “compression” as long as the new season is as engrossing as the first.
We Know The Title Of The First Wheel Of Time Season 2 Episode
Those behind The Wheel of Time knew that it would be a while before the many fans devoted to these stories would get to see Season 2, so they stepped out on a little bit of a limb and revealed the name of the first episode of the upcoming season…all the way back in May 2021. The Season 2 premiere is titled “A Taste of Solitude,” which just so happens to also be the title of the 18th chapter of Book 6, Lord of Chaos. So, it seems that this title may point to at least a bit of the plot for the season opener.
The Loss Of Connection Between Moiraine And Lan Will Be A Big Part Of Season 2
One of the big shocks that came down in The Wheel of Time Season 1 ending was the fact that Moiraine cut off her psychic bond to her Warder, Lan, right before heading off with Rand to the Eye of the Word to attempt beating the Dark One. This was probably so that Lan wouldn’t die during the expected confrontation, but seeing as how the aftermath of that fight led to Moiraine no longer being able to channel the One Power, she’s now unable to reconnect the bond with Lan.
We’ve seen what fully losing an Aes Sedai like Moiraine can do to her Warder, and Season 2 is set to explore what happens when both are still hard at work, but can’t share thoughts and emotions so easily. As Rafe Judkins told CBR:
So, that loss of connection between the two of them is something that really is going to play a big role in Season 2 because they no longer have that currency of communication with each other. So what does that mean for their relationship?
Woooeeeee! I don’t know about you, but now I really can’t wait for The Wheel of Time Season 2 to debut! Until then check out the 2022 TV premiere dates and some of the other best fantasy shows you can stream right now!