Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time Series Coming to the Big Screen
It looks like grown-up fantasy movies are making a comeback once again, and the rights to one of the most popular fantasy series of all time have just been picked up by Universal Pictures. Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series spans 11 books (with one still to come) and has sold over 30 million copies worldwide. Universal is looking to turn it into a new franchise, with the first book The Eye of the World being adapted first.
The Wheel of Time series involves a battle between the champion of Light, Rand al’Thor, and Shai’tan, the Dark One. I’ve never read any of the books myself, but I know a lot of people have compared Jordan’s work to J.R.R. Tolkien’s. That’s not always a good thing though, since some people find almost all fantasy stuff derivative of Tolkien… but really, how can it not be? I think this is the reason we haven’t seen more fantasy on the big screen lately. People are afraid of the Lord of the Rings comparisons. However, with Robert Rodriguez doing Red Sonja now, an ElfQuest movie in the works, and HBO optioning George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Fire and Ice, I think studios are finally getting over that fear, and we should be in for a bunch of solid fantasy adaptations over the next few years.
Comments (19)
i’m going to out myself as a super-nerd and say this news makes me really happy.
Posted by megan on August 13th, 2008I read the first 3 and a 1/2 books and the magic and characters are engaging. The story is typical “chosen one” shit though and the writing style is so meticulous it wears away at you. There are A LOT of characters and A LOT of books. I don’t see how they can pull this off easily without pissing fans off. People love this series though: my best friend’s cousin has a Wheel of Time tattoo!
The problem with going into this series is Robert Jordan died before completing the last book! Apparently he left notes and someone is going to complete it but that’s so truly heartbreaking. I haven’t seen Will since then but I bet he’s really upset!
Posted by Ryan M. on August 13th, 2008I’m ashamed to admit I’ve never read any these books.
I fail.
Posted by Paul on August 13th, 2008Why can’t someone find out about GUY GAVRIEL KAY or ALISTAIR REYNOLDS for film adaptions. Robert Jordan and his Wheel of time is such garbage – and garbage in slow motion. Totally lost interest around book 4 as it was clear that Jordan was simply milking his fantasy creation rather than doing anything interesting with it. Ditto Terry Goodkind, David Eddings, and Terry Brooks.
I’d like to see Ursula LeGuin, GG Kay, A. Reynolds (more pulp sci-fi than fantasy, but still), and perhaps some Charles De Lint be adapted as ‘adult’ movies. Doubt it will happen and we’ll be stuck with more Harry Potter, Spiderwick Chronicles, watered down C.S. Lewis and fucking Eragon. Shame.
(Yes, my entire teenage years and much of my 20s were devoted to the Fantasy Genre…sad, but true)
Posted by Kurt on August 13th, 2008I’ve read a lot of comments on several sites. First of all Universal is tackling just the first book with one film.
Posted by John on August 13th, 2008Remember, Robert Jordan wrote with his wife, who was also his editor and has left notes, research and basically everything for her to co-write and edit the 12th book, so it should be great!
The multiple level of the story threads is exactly why this will make a wonderful series of films as long as casting and direction is tight.
Also, Red Eagle / Manetheren is along as Producers to maintain loyalty to the novels.
Looks overall like good news to me!
I’ve read all the wheel of time books, including new spring, it is an amazing fantasy adventure and of course there is a hint of Tolkien but what fantasy book wouldn’t? The problem for most people like Kurt i think is that there are already twelve books in the series so far and the story is epic to say the least. There are so many sub plots and other things going on aside of the main “chosen one” story that it might be hard for some people to get into but if you do read them all you would not regret it.
Its a shame that Robert Jordan died last year before he wrote the last book and Brandon Sanderson has alot to live up to.
As for Universal! I hope that Universal realise the task at hand and dont ruin the movie by trying to cram all the action from each of the book into a crappy one and a half hours like Disney wanted to do with The lord of the rings a did with The lion, the witch and the wardrobe.
Posted by Gary on September 14th, 2008I think they should make the movie but what the need is a half decent director. Eragon was one of the best books ive read and it was completly ruined by the movie they really needed PETER JACKSON for that one.
they should just clone peter jackson and get him to do all fantasy movies.
Posted by gebe on November 29th, 2008All I have to say is; Finally, took long enough
Posted by David on January 12th, 2009…I’ve grown up around the classics and been addicted to both fantasy and mythology for most of my life, and I have to say this is probably one of the best series i’ve ever read. There are other good fantasy writers out there, but Jordan brought about the ability to implement EVERYTHING into his series… which is why it will be next to impossible to pull this off without completely ruining the books! Not impossible, but next to it.
I agree that Peter Jackson would be the best candidate for director, that is as long as he doesn’t fuck over the story lines as he did in LOTR…
I hope i’m not the only person who realized how many, not scenes, chapters he took out of each book?
…haha were fucked.
Posted by Johno on January 26th, 2009This was great series. Eventhough Rand Al’Thor is kind of predictable and annoying as the hero. Matt will be the next Han Solo. I just don’t see how they can keep the same actors for 12 movies and if they try to cram too many books in one movie it will be wacked. I loved the Sword of Truth series but the TV Show is F@*%&G Corny…. I think Ice and fIRE ON h.b.o. WILL TURN OUT TO BE THE BEST fANTASY ADAPTION SINCE lORD OF THE rINGS…
Posted by Q.S. Chapman on March 2nd, 2009I am now reading the series (I am at book 8 now).it is a good series and i think that the tv drama will be interesting.BUT PLS , Peter jackson ruined lotr by making a mcdonald tasteless movie.He really killed the book. Hes ok for bigscreen hit, but lets not give him another Classic to destroy. I could not support the idea of Rand al thor on my mecdonald cup.pls not this time.thanx for reading me
Posted by Yann on March 9th, 2009I can’t get my hopes up. I was extremely excited when the lord of the rings came to the big screen. It was a huge disappointment. Recently Terry Goodkinds Sword of truth came to the small screen – awful. Anytime a Fantasy Epic is turned into a Movie they fail to capture the essence of the books. Case in point Harry Potter
Posted by Art on April 6th, 2009I was somewhat turned off after the first WoT book. I suppose it was my most unrealistic expectations of this book, that were generated after reading LoTR as well as His Dark Materials, that contributed to this disinterest. Though I’ve not read the rest, I know indubitably that the entire WoT storyline or scope is “epic”. However, I can’t stand the way people claim astoundedly, “woah, twelve books and THAT many pages!” In essence, I find it rather draggy. I feel that its almost huumdrum in a sense. Everything moves at such a slow pace, its almost as if he’s retelling the story again and again in a perpetual wheel (pun intended). According to many others, the overwhelming impression of the first book was “Amazing! Must read the rest!” I can’t seem to find that vigour to do so..
Posted by Discontent on April 21st, 2009It’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” not Fire and Ice.
Posted by Arctor on May 26th, 2009ok all i got to say is that i have read all the books in the series to come out so far and i think they are AMAZING! yes they can be slow at some times but the end result is always worth it! im looking forward to this movie very much and like everyone else just hope they don’t screw it up too badly. truthfully even if they do leave stuff out, which im sure they will due to the volume of info the books contain, i think as long as its not horrible acting and cheesy effects i know i will enjoy them no matter what! oh and the last book “A Memory of Light” is going to be split up into 3 books so with the prequel to the first book that will make 15!
Posted by Max on June 5th, 2009The author that is now finishing the series is Brandon Sanderson and i have read his three book series “Mistborn” and enjoyed them very much! it has the same “chosen one” theme but i think that is what makes me like them. i love that premise for a book. i think he will do a good job on completing the series and all i have to say is GOOD LUCK Universal Studios! a lot of lifetime fans are counting on you!
as a long term fan of WoT i am both extremely excited at the prospect of a movie, but also very fearful of it. I do not think the essence of the series will be captured on film. maybe the best bet would be 2 films to each book and possibly in the same kind of style as 300. then maybe, just maybe there would be hope.(though it would mean making 30 movies without the actors aging too much. cgi???
Posted by Kev on July 2nd, 2009I’ve read the series through 2 or 3 times, the problem is always going to be the fact that, in order to realistically portray all the sub plots and how they all weave into the bigger picture, the movie would need to be a day long or more, they always cut out pieces they see as unessential to furthering the main storyline and in this case, as it was in LOTR you lose the better part of the book, story tellers like Robert Jordan don’t just provide you with a main plot, but several, and to ‘cut’ his work to a 3 hour movie a book is a disservice to him. it’d probably do better as a series of 1 hour installments on TV that way you get more hours to play with in order to fully tell the story
Posted by James on July 11th, 2009To those of you who have contemplated reading The Wheel of Time series and have been discouraged by the negative comments made both here and elsewhere,I say this:
Yes,the characters are annoyingly predictable at times, consistently being themselves as people always do.
The story line slows almost to a halt at times, like waiting to board a plane. Then at other times it moves so quickly that it feels like the take off of said plane – a rush of emotion and sensation so intense that most of us tune some of it out.
As for retelling the same period in the story line over and over again, well its true and it is sometimes fairly aggravating. Its like hearing varying accounts of the same incident from different observers or being told of other events that happened at that same time from folk who were elsewhere at that time. Some of the accounts are boring once you have the basic time line in mind, but hearing them may be the price paid for getting the information they convey.
True to life as these and other bits of business may be, they are none the less truly irksome when you are reading the books. I considered jumping ahead on more than one occasion. I never did, but I considered it. There is one whole book that hardly advanced the plots at all and it drove me to distraction. Only on reading subsequent volumes did the part played by that book of doldrums become clear… and appreciated.
All that said and done, I impatiently awaited the publishing of each new book with great expectation.
Posted by Phil on September 3rd, 2009Sorry, but the WoT is a travesty, an insult to the fantasy genre. It is the Days of Our Lives of fantasy. Overblown, dreadful characters, self-indulgent writing.
I have read four of the books and then stopped. Why? I could not bear to read any more descriptions of buildings and women’s clothing, nor did I care for any of the 96 minor character POVs that often carried the narrative. I have a life, and there are too many wonderful books in the world to read the craftless crap Jordan was spewing out.
Someone at the beginning of the comments mentioned Guy Gavriel Kay – now there is a fantasy writer. Read him if you want to know how good fantasy can be without waiting decades to know the ending.
Posted by AJ on November 5th, 2009Leave a Reply