Finally, The Wheel of Time trailer has arrived! And Amazon Prime Video’s adaptation of Robert Jordan’s fantasy series is not messing around. Longtime fans of the books have been hoping to see Jordan’s epic on-screen for decades. Some since the first book came out in 1990. And though we’ve come close to a Wheel of Time TV series in the past, it’s now here and it’s very real. This story about good vs. evil, politics, intrigue, magic, prophecies, and so much more looks like it’s going to thrive as a television series. Watch the trailer and see what you think.
The Wheel of Time trailer opens with the words of the first chapter of the first book in the series, The Eye of the World. That passage comes up frequently and emphasizes the cyclical nature of this world. Events circle again and again on the wheel of time and important figures are reincarnated through the ages. And this world, by the way, does not have a name like Middle-earth. Fans have long called it Randland. (And based on this tweet from Amazon Prime Studios, it looks like that’s going to stick as an out-of-story label).
From that opening, the trailer dives into danger, sweeping locales, and lots of magic and women using that magic. The magic is the One Power and the women are Aes Sedai—in some ways Aes Sedai serve as the glue that holds this world together. Aes Sedai sit at the heart of this series too, particularly Moiraine Damodred (Rosamund Pike). She goes on a journey to the small village of Emond’s Field to find the Dragon Reborn, a reincarnation of the Dragon who is destined to save the world from the Dark One (the evil in this world). Or the Dragon Reborn could destroy the world. Who knows.
Amazon Prime Video
Moiraine knows from prophecies that the Dragon Reborn is one of three young men in Emond’s Field: Rand al’Thor (Josha Stradowski), Matrim “Mat” Cauthon (Barney Harris), and Perrin Aybara (Marcus Rutherford). She means to find them and take them back to Tar Valon, the city in which the Aes Sedai reside. Egwene al’Vere (Madeleine Madden) and Nynaeve al’Meara (Zoë Robins) accompany the boys, Moiraine, and Moiraine’s Warder Lan Mandragoran (Daniel Henney). An Aes Sedai’s Warder is basically like a bodyguard but cooler.
As you can imagine, with The Wheel of Time books spanning 14 novels plus a prequel, the journey to Tar Valon doesn’t go smoothly. The trailer shows some of the danger with a faceless Myrddraal, a servant of the Dark One, and beastly creatures called Trollocs. Moiraine isn’t the only one with suspicions about the Dragon Reborn…
Amazon Prime Video
The trailer may give you Game of Thrones, The Lord of the Rings, or maybe even Shadow and Bone vibes. Yes, even though two of those series debuted after The Wheel of Time. And while J.R.R. Tolkien’s work definitely influenced Jordan, The Wheel of Time stands apart. However, if you like any of those series, we think you’ll fall for this one too. And just in case it’s important to you: The Wheel of Time books are complete. Brandon Sanderson completed the final three books in the series after Jordan’s passing.
The Wheel of Time premieres on Amazon Prime Video in November 19, 2021.
Amy Ratcliffe is the Managing Editor for Nerdist and the author of A Kid’s Guide to Fandom, available now. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram.
