TV/STREAMING
LIGHTING THE SPARK OF LIFE THAT TURNS THE WHEEL OF TIME By TREVOR HOGG
Images copyright © 2020 Sony Pictures Television Inc. and Amazon Content Services LLC. TOP: The Wheel of Time has a diverse cast which includes Zoë Robins, Barney Harris, Daniel Henney, Rosamund Pike, Madeleine Madden, Marcus Rutherford and Josha Stradowski.
An epic fantasy series conceived by Robert Jordan, where the past and future coexist simultaneously and a select group of individuals have the ability to channel the forces of nature, has been adapted for Prime Video. Overseeing the production of The Wheel of Time, which has been renewed for a second season, is creator, Executive Producer and Showrunner Rafe Judkins (Hemlock Grove), who collaborated with Production Designer Ondrej Nekvasil (Snowpiercer), Visual Effects Supervisor Julian Parry (The Witcher) and Special Effects Supervisor Ondrej Nierostek (Carnival Row) to make his cinematic vision a reality. Considering the literary inspiration and influence of The Wheel of Time, Rafe Judkins had to balance being authentic to the source material while not feeling too derivative. “As much as possible we tried to lean into the stuff that is fresh to television audiences.” The biggest job was condensing the narrative for the eight episodes of the first season. “When the writers’ room was getting started,” Judkins observes, “we hired a bunch of concept artists from around the world, coming from different backgrounds, genres and mediums to tackle some of the big elements of the show. What does channeling, Trollocs, Fades and the landscape of this broken world look like? Then working with our heads of departments and an internal concept team, we took those ideas and began to flesh them out into this world.”
98 • VFXVOICE.COM WINTER 2022
PG 98-104 WHEEL OF TIME.indd 98
12/5/21 4:40 PM
