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"The Wheel of Time": Daniel Henney Joins Amazon Prime Series as al'Lan Mandragoran

In honor of #WoTWednesday, fans of Robert Jordan's (James Oliver Rigney Jr.) "Wheel of Time" series of novels are learning the name of a new member cast member joining Amazon Prime's fantasy series adaptation. Daniel Henney is set to play al'Lan Mandragoran ("Lan"), opposite Rosamund Pike's (Gone Girl, upcoming The Banker's Wife) Moiraine. Joining Pike and Henney are previously-announced cast members Madeleine Madden, Marcus Rutherford, Barney Harris, Zoë Robins, and Josha Stradowski.

wheel of time
CBS

Rafe Judkins (Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) serves as showrunner as well as writer, with Uta Briesewitz (Westworld) set to direct the first two episodes. Isis Mussenden is attached to the project at costume designer, with Karen E. Goulekas serving as visual effects supervisor.

wheel of time
Amazon Prime

Here's a look at a more detailed description of Pike's Moiraine:

The Wheel of Time is set in a sprawling fantasy world where magic exists, but can only be accessed by certain women. Pike's Moiraine is one of those women, a member of the powerful all-female organization known as the Aes Sendai. She comes to the small town of Two Rivers and embarks on a world-spanning journey with five young men and women. One of them is prophesied to be the Dragon Reborn, a being who will either save or destroy humanity.

While character descriptions for the series were not available, here is a look at the lines from Jordan's novels that were attached with the casting announcements:

Madden's Egwene Al'Vere:

"It was about a woman who would not bend her back while she was beaten, and who shown with a light for all who watched."

Rutherford's Perrin Aybara:

"It was about a man whose family was taken from him, but who stood tall in his sorrow and protected those he could."

Harris' Mat Cauthon:

"It was about a hero who insisted with every breath that he was anything but a hero."

Robins' Nynaeve:

"It was about a woman who refused to believe that she could not help, could not heal those who had been harmed."

Stradowski's Rand Al'Thor:

"It was not about me. It's never been about me."

Henney's al'Lan Mandragoran:

"I swear to stand against the Shadow so long as iron is hard and stone abides – to defend the Malkieri while one drop of blood remains. I swear to avenge what cannot be defended."

wheel of time

Here's what author Brandon Sanderson (who completed the series after Jordan's passing) had to say about the series adaptation and the changes being made by the writers' room:

"I found the mast majority of these decisions to be excellent choices–things that will give the show its own soul, but still in line with the feel and tone of the books. I can't say for certain, but my instincts say the fanbase will in general respond to them positively. There are a few I offered suggestions on, and we'll see.

I can't say too much, not just because of NDAs, but also because the show is very much still in flux as Rafe makes decisions on how he wants things to go. As the alterations go, I'd say they fall in line with positive changes made in bringing LOTR to the big screen–things that were altered in order to make the films work for the medium.

Overall, the thing I'm most impressed with is Rafe himself, who really seems to be guiding this show with a balance between love for the source material and his own creative vision. I'd much rather get this, personally, than something like the first two Harry Potter films–which felt like someone trying to bring the books to the screen with exact scene-by-scene recreations.

I'm certain there will be polarizing decisions made by the team, but the changes are coming from a good place, and I really like most of them. And let me tell you, the first of the two scripts I read was sharp. Excellent dialogue, nuanced characters, great pacing. The second of the two was in a rougher shape, so while still good, obviously was still undergoing revisions."

Amazon Prime Video's The Wheel of Time is executive produced by Judkins, alongside Rick Selvage and Larry Mondragon of Red Eagle Entertainment, Ted Field and Mike Weber of Radar Pictures and Darren Lemke. Harriet McDougal serves as a consulting producer. Produced by Sony Pictures Television and Amazon Studios, The Wheel of Time will launch in over 200 countries and territories.


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Ray FlookAbout Ray Flook

Serving as Television Editor since 2018, Ray began five years earlier as a contributing writer/photographer before being brought onto the core BC team in 2017.
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