Amazon's 'Wheel of Time' Series Adds 5 Major Cast Members
"The Wheel of Time" is adding more spokes to its upcoming adaptation on Amazon.
The fantasy epic series, based on the novels by Robert Jordan, has cast five actors to star opposite Rosamund Pike: Madeleine Madden, Marcus Rutherford, Barney Harris, Zoë Robins and Josha Stradowski.
The drama follows Moiraine (Pike), a member of the shadowy and influential all-female organization called the Aes Sedai, as she arrives in the small town of Two Rivers. There, she embarks on a dangerous, world-spanning journey with five young men and women, one of whom is prophesied to be the Dragon Reborn, who will either save or destroy humanity.
Stradowski will play Rand Al'Thor, the young man who becomes the Dragon Reborn. Madden is Egwene Al'Vere, a young woman who has the potential to become a powerful Aes Sedai.
Their friends include blacksmith apprentice Perrin Aybara (Rutherford) and prankster Mat Cauton (Harris). And overseeing them all is the village wise woman, Nynyaeve (Robins).
"Wheel of Time" is a bestselling 14-book fantasy series written by Robert Jordan (he died before completing the final three novels; they were finished by author Brandon Sanderson from Jordan's notes). They have sold over 90 million copies worldwide.
Amazon is clearly looking to fill the fantasy gap left by "Game of Thrones" (as is every other TV and streaming player, including HBO, which has a prequel series in development). Amazon not only is working on "Wheel of Time," but it spent hundreds of millions of dollars on the rights to make a "Lord of the Rings" TV show.