When you follow something so avidly for more than half your life, and there’s constant chatter about adaptations for film and tv that never come to pass, you start to think it will never really happen. But here we are, sixteen years since I picked up The Eye of the World, and there’s a trailer. A real, two minutes plus trailer. You simply must watch it. I’ll wait— and squee— while you do. The Wheel of Time totals fourteen books plus a full-length prequel novel; putting every single thing into one tv show is unrealistic, so fans should probably expect some significant changes to keep the plot moving. But the basic premise is all here in the trailer. Aes Sedai Moiraine Damodred (Pike) arrives in The Two Rivers with her Warder Lan Mandragoran (Henney), seeking a young man she believes to be The Dragon Reborn, a prophesised hero who will break the world in order to fight the Dark One. She takes Rand Al’Thor (Stradowski), Matrim Cauthon (Harris), Perrin Aybara (Rutherford), Egwene Al’Vere (Madden) and Nynaeve Al’Meara (Robins) from The Two Rivers after an assault by the shadow— and for all five, their lives are changed for good. For someone who’s never read The Wheel of Time, the sword and shield high fantasy will feel familiar to those who’ve seen The Lord of the Rings, The Witcher, Game of Thrones and even a little His Dark Materials. The landscapes are drop dead gorgeous, the cities a reminder of the legendary ones we’ve seen before. The costumes are a riot of colour and texture and the magical weaving looks interesting. On top of that, there is a clear focus on the women who work their magic for the good of the world. There are actors of colour playing protagonist roles (with more already announced but not seen in the trailer)— and there’s even a little sexy suggestion added into the mix. For the ardent fans, there are many huge things at play, and more questions than answers. It’s nice to see a glimpse of the tell-tale serpent rings, the clear-cut politics of the Ajahs— and Siuan looking absolutely stellar and completely in charge. The wolf, the dagger, Tam! Shadar Logoth looks dark as it ought to, and the horrible teeth and faceless features of that Fade made me shudder— and was that Logain? I’m way too excited over here. The trailer gives a Prime release date of November 19th, with the first three episodes coming that day, the remaining five to be revealed once a week until December 24th. No matter what, I have my plan. I will order pizza, I will snuggle up in my best pyjamas and I will take to the couch to soak it all in. All hail the Lord of the Morning.
