Summary
- Brandon Sanderson tried to change Perrin’s season 1 storyline in
The Wheel of Time
show, but higher-ups said no. - Sanderson disagreed with the decision to have Perrin accidentally kill his wife, though he said the creative team supported him.
- Ultimately, the higher-ups turned down his alternate suggestion, and the controversial storyline stood.
The Wheel of Time writer Brandon Sanderson apologizes for the way the TV show tackled Perrin’s season 1 storyline. The Prime Video high fantasy show was adapted from the novel series of the same name, penned by Robert Jordan (and later Sanderson), and takes place in a fictional world in which magic exists but can only be accessed by a few, and follows the efforts of the Aes Sedai – a matriarchal order of female channelers – who seek the prophesied Dragon Reborn. Spanning 14 volumes, beginning with 1990’s The Eye of the World, the series is noted as one of the most extensive in all literature.
Legendary fantasy author Sanderson, who is best known for his Cosmere universe, was personally chosen by Jordan’s widow to complete The Wheel of Time following Jordan’s death in 2007. Sanderson also serves as a consulting producer on the Prime Video adaptation of the show, and The Independent reports that the author spoke to fans at Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo, where he revealed he tried to change Perrin’s storyline of accidentally killing his wife. Read Sanderson’s comments below:
Sorry about Perrin on the show.
It’s not my fault. I tried.
Oh, how I tried. Rafe [Judkins, showrunner] really went to bat for me. I presented a completely different thing to do with Perrin that would still get what they wanted. Minor spoilers for the television show’s first episode – but instead of the first big event that happens, [my idea was] what if he wounds Master Luhhan?He’s worried about the rage inside of him – you can get all the same beats without doing the thing that you did, and then he also won’t be traumatised for the entire first season. And he can actually go on fun adventures with friends.
They took it all the way to the higher-ups and fought for my version of it
, and they said no.There are certain things. Certain forces moving. You know that Jeff Bezos, at one point, said, ‘I want Game of Thrones, buy it for me.’ And they were like, ‘You can’t have Game of Thrones,’ and he was like, ‘Buy me something that is my Game of Thrones’ And there are certain forces at work. There’s just lots of forces at play. I’ll just say that.
During the first episode’s battle against the Trollocs, Perrin, in the heat of the moment, swings his axe intending to hurt a monster, but instead fatally wounds his wife.
How Much Of An Input Will Sanderson Have On Future Seasons of The Wheel Of Time?
Sanderson Seems To Have Wheel Of Time’s Best Interests At Heart
With
The Wheel of Time
season 3 already renewed, ideally, Sanderson can have a bigger role behind the scenes in influencing plot points.
The nature of adapting a world as rich and detailed as The Wheel of Time‘s means there are going to be differences from book to screen, and there are plenty of great book moments that likely won’t happen in the show. However, there is also a need to faithfully adapt core elements and character arcs that play a major part in the story, and Sanderson, who has worked on both the novels and TV series, is ideally placed to give insight into both. However, it seems from his comments that his suggestions are not always heeded.
How much of an impact Sanderson can expect to have on the future of the show remains to be seen, especially with the complexities of working for a billion-dollar corporation like Amazon’s Prime Video. With The Wheel of Time season 3 already renewed, ideally, Sanderson can have a bigger role behind the scenes in influencing plot points. The outcry surrounding the decision to have Perrin accidentally murder his wife, and that Sanderson fought against it, indicates he has the right idea for the show at heart, and can perhaps steer it in a positive direction.
The Wheel of Time was envisaged by Prime Video as an epic fantasy that would help the service to stand out in the streaming wars, and the show has been largely successful. There is no telling how many seasons it might run, but there are plenty Wheel of Time books that could be adapted. It’s unclear for how long Sanderson might be involved, but as long as he has a role behind the scenes, it seems he will do his best to try to give the most accurate Wheel of Time adaptation possible.
The Wheel of Time
seasons 1 and 2 are available on Prime Video.
Source: The Independent
The Wheel of Time
Brandon Sanderson and Robert Jordan’s expansive fantasy series is brought to life in The Wheel of Time, a fantasy tv series created for Amazon Prime Video. The series follows a woman named Moiraine, a member of the all-female Aes Sedai group who can utilize a great power. Following an attack on a local village, Moiraine heads there to find a villager that may be the reincarnation of an all-powerful dragon that will either save or destroy the world.
- Cast
- Barney Harris , Zoe Robins , Madeleine Madden , Marcus Rutherford , Daniel Henney , Rosamund Pike , Josha Stradowski , Kate Fleetwood , Priyanka Bose , Hammed Animashaun
- Release Date
- November 19, 2021
- Seasons
- 2
- Franchise(s)
- The Wheel of Time
- Writers
- Rafe Judkins , Robert Jordan , Michael Clarkson , Paul Clarkson , Celine Song
- Directors
- Sanaa Hamri , Ciaran Donnelly , Thomas Napper
- Showrunner
- Rafe Judkins
