Amazon’s adaptation of The Wheel of Time has found its Moiraine! The Wheel of Time Writers Room took to twitter to announce that Oscar-nominated actor Rosamund Pike will take on the role.
Last week showrunner Rafe Judkins promised that he’d return to announcing news on Twitter under the hashtag #WoTWednesdays, and he did not disappoint! Here’s the tweet:
Please welcome Rosamund Pike to the Wheel of Time family. Say hello to Moiraine. #WoTWednesday pic.twitter.com/577Hffwy6Y
— The Wheel Of Time (@TheWheelOfTime) June 19, 2019
Moiraine is a member of a sisterhood called the Aes Sedai, and she travels the world with a group of five youths (Although…could Nynaeve really be considered a youth?)—one of whom may prove to be very, very important. Best known for her Oscar-nominated role as Amy Dunne in Gone Girl, Pike has also appeared in Die Another Day, The Libertine, and the most recent adaptation of Watership Down. Wheel of Time will be coming to Amazon in a co-production with Sony Pictures TV.
We’ll keep you updated as the wheel of new turns, but in the meantime, what do you hope to see from Moiraine?
I can dig it. I’ve always seen the actress Polly Walker as Moiraine in my head. She’s been in a few things, most notably Atia of the Julii in Rome.
Wow – she actually looks strikingly similar to how I imagined her in my head (modern clothes aside and I believe she had slightly darker hair in the books). :)
She’s over 5’8″ tall
@3 Does her height actually play any role in the narrative at all besides being more imposing than her height?
Also, if it is really important, clever camera work can make her seem any height needed.
She is tall, but remember Elijah Wood is taller than Frodo Baggins.
She seems rather tall, but other than that, she might be perfect. She’s real good actress, I am actually quite excited about that news :)
Ed: Half a minute later came to the conclusion that except for Rand, I really don’t care so much about anybody’s height as long as everything else works. Pike is really good choice.
@@.-@,5 – I seriously doubt they will bother with camera tricks just to make her look half a foot shorter. She’s not playing a dwarf or anything.
@3: Altogether, all with me now, IT DOESN’T MATTER.
“She has large, dark eyes and dark hair hanging in ringlets. She is barely tall enough to come up to Rand‘s chest.”
Please don’t give us a blonde Moiraine. That’s all I ask for this casting. Rosamund Pike is a fine actress and I can see her in the role, but I can’t get “Moraine the Blonde Bombshell” out of my head now lol”
@7 Oh, I don’t think they will bother either. I can’t think of anywhere in the series where it matters, I was just pointing out that even if it was important, it is hardly an insurmountable problem.
Hair color/style, eye color and height are really trivial problems in television/movies.
Adub @9. I agree that based on the description of Moiraine that I always saw her as a dark haired actress – in my mind Cote de Pablo (the actress who played Ziva on NCIS). That said, it does not matter to the story line whatever her hair color is. I just want the TV character to have the same personality as the Moiraine in the book. Another possibility. She could always dye her hair for the role. She would not be there first actor or actress to do so.
Thanks for reading my musings.
AndrewHB
@9
Don’t know if you’re a fan of A Song of Ice and Fire and Game of Thrones, but if you’re, try never to see the actors without make-up, wigs and hair dye. Not to mention how many tattoos some of they have. They look nothing like the characters at all. And yet, the series was a success for most of its run. It at least wasn’t cancelled and got to reach the end.
Andrew HB @11. Agreed. They can dye her hair. I’m happy with the casting. Just hope they decide to darken her hair to better match the description. I know it ultimately doesn’t matter to the story, but would be those little attention to detail things that I think would be important to the show. If that makes sense. I’ll watch (and hopefully love) regardless.
As long as it’s not….*shudder*…Winter Dragon, all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.
Jordan always said that Moiraine’s physical appearance was based on Cher, so this is an interesting bit of casting. I like it!
@@@@@ 14
I thought Faile was the “young Cher”. Moiraine was supposed to be Hedy Lamarr, wasn’t she?
OK, never guessed Moiraine would be a former Bond girl, but Rosamund has the presence for the role.
Overall, I’m just really really happy to see casting news start to come out. I think Lan is the next announcement.
i always envisioned Marina Sirtis from her days in Star Trek TNG
@@@@@2. Lisamarie
Same here. Darken her hair a bit and that’s pretty much spot on how I pictured her.
Good casting. I’m curious as to how they’ll show the ageless look of the AS. Or maybe they won’t bother. Hopefully the makeup department can compensate for the fact that actors age
I’d always cast Ellen Pompeo in my head, but I can definitely get on board with this!
@19 – My guess is that there won’t bother. I can’t imagine the effect looking anything but ridiculous in real life. I keep picturing everyone looking overly botox-ed!
I admit I was kinda hoping for Jenna Coleman as Moiraine…
Wouldn’t they all considered “youths” next to Moraine? Hopefully they aren’t changing Nynaeve to be a younger character.
@23, Pike is only a couple of years younger than Moiraine was in the books.
@21 I think the mild to moderately botox-ed look of your average 40s to 50s Hollywood actress is kind of perfect, just the right combination of aging slower than normal with a touch of abnormal smoothness, I mean compared to what women over 40-50 normally looked like in a preindustrial culture.
Cool! She’s a good actress.
My brother sent me a text with a link to the casting rumor last night and my tongue in cheek comment was “too tall” but really I don’t care. The books are their own thing. They have 3,000 named characters and internal monologues and all sorts of things that are hard to portray on screen. The show will be different. It has to be different. Who cares about the height or hair color of a character? I want Mat to feel like Mat, and to see Moiraine’s character arc from book 1 to book 5, and see how they portray channeling, and how they design the trollocs and ogier, and Nynaeve’s moments of awesome, and the wolves, and all the rest. Minor things like hair and height are not important.
Except for Rand. He better be 6′ 4″ and have red hair. :)
I like her and think she’s a high quality actress. I just don’t like the fact that she’s 5’9″ and Moiraine is supposed to be rather short. But I am eager to see this adaptation of WoT. And I love that we’re getting casting news!
My main thing with the height is that it’s not just an individual characteristic for Moraine, but part of her nation group. We’re constantly being told how short Cairheinins are, and that she is short even for a Cairheinin, and her being Cairheinin, with hugely important relatives, is an important part of who she is in this story.
I’m not that bothered by it all, but to me her shortness is much more important than, say, how short Egwene and Nynaeve are, although maybe not as important as how tall Rand is (and how that is related to his father being Aiel).
The height thing really does need to be addressed.
The whole point of Moiraine being short is that if you just gave her a cursory glance, she’d seem completely unthreatening – something that almost any person could overpower – in other words, someone who should by all other standards be irrelevant in the game for power. But because of her sheer force of will and determination to do what needs to be done no matter the cost, because she knows who she is and what she is about, because she is on a mission that is more important to her than her very life, and because she knows she is very strong in the Power, she has command that overpowers almost everyone she meets. She MUST look – at first glance – like a child next to Lan. You lose so much of the meaning in her character and therefore in the story otherwise.
@29 I literally had typed almost the same comment about visual cues for nationalities, etc. Really though, they can make Cairhienin the ones that dress with lace all the time and it will work. The visual shorthands for nationalities are going to have to change some places.
There is no story reason for cairhenin to be short. It’s just worldbuilding. Elayne, Gawyn and Galad are all as much Cairhenin as Andoran, and they’re tall. So it’s not even consistent in-world.
Moiraine doesn’t have to be a symbol for her whole culture for the story to work, and her height was never presented as an obstacle she needed to overcome to achieve authority. That Great Serpent Ring is all the authority she needs amongst anyone who is not a Sister. And the See Sedai don’t care about height in any way. It’s a complete non-issue, plot and character-wise.
It’d be more useful to know if the question of height came up in casting decision and how it was answered. There’s a difference between “it didn’t occur to them” and “they considered the issue but other factors prevailed.”
I always agreed with Leigh Butler’s dreamcast choice of Janet Montgomery for Moiraine, but whatever. According to Rafe Judkins, Rosamund Pike is super into her character and is actually reading the books, which is appreciated. Hopefully the writers will do that effort and interest justice. Of course, one of the show’s writers is Dave “Olly” Hill, the up-jumped intern from “Game of Thrones,” so that’s not particularly reassuring.
She’s definitely lovely enough. I hope she does her hair though.
@25 and @21 I think the mild to moderately botox-ed look of your average 40s to 50s Hollywood actress is kind of perfect, just the right combination of aging slower than normal with a touch of abnormal smoothness.
That’s exactly my response too. I don’t think their agelessness makes them look actually young so much as “artificially preserved.”
@36 – Technically, RJ’s description is that you can’t pin an age on them. Aes Sedai look both young and wise at the same time. How the heck that is supposed to translate to the real world…who knows? I think they should just ignore that frozen age thing. Like Cairhenin being short, it’s just a nice world-building touch.
My biggest worries were just casting someone who can’t act but is popular “right now”, or hiring someone too green because they’ll work for cheap. Having someone who can act, who is really into the character, and who definitely can look the part has me very excited about the potential for the show. Just hope they do just as well with the rest of the cast (especially Lan).
As a short person (5’0), I actually loved that Moiraine was so short, lol (used to kind of fantasize about playing either her or Nyneave if they ever made a movie, lol). So I’m sad to lose that, but agree that in general, despite the bit of worldbuilding it provided, it’s really not that central to her character.
Honestly, even Rand’s tallness could be omitted assuming he otherwise has the coloring/look of the Aiel.
I can dig it. Now give me Morena Baccarin as Lanfear please
what a great actress , I look forward to this![.](//s04.flagcounter.com/mini/Jkzv/bg_FFFFFF/txt_DEDEDE/border_FFFFFF/flags_0/" width="1"/>)
They should just develop an Instagram/snapchat type filter and use it for all Aes Sedai. Give them a consistent look.
@@@@@ 4: “Also, if it is really important, clever camera work can make her seem any height needed.”
Also, movie cameras have been doing overtime since the beginning of cinema, making leading men look taller.
@@@@@ 9: Remember that, in a series as recent as Game of Thrones, both Lena Headey and Emilia Clarke played bombshell blondes while staying brunettes the whole time under their wigs.
I’m really excited by this. =) Expectations rising.
@11 Cote de Pablo would be a perfect Moiraine. While I never actually thought about it, she does have the look I always imagined when I read Moiraine.
That being said, I do hope they fix the hair color of this actress.
@41 Morena Baccarin as Lanfear would be PERFECT.
I keep seeing the opinion that height and hair color “don’t matter,” that it’s “just worldbuilding,” and I have to disagree. Do we want a short, blond Rand? A black-haired Elayne? A stick-thin Perrin? A tiny Lan? Having the characters look the way they are described is part of what makes them who they are and is important to the feel of the story.
It matters.
I agree that it’s somewhat important that she be the right height in the series, but it’s not hard to accomplish that with camera tricks. Also, if they do cast somebody 6’6″ as Rand, and other tall man for Matt and Perrin, she’ll look short in comparison no matter what they do.
If the height of the actress is a big hang up for you at this point, you should prepare yourself to be disappointed no matter what Amazon releases. It is a trivial bit of detail that has essentially no effect on the story. I could understand if she was supposed to be a giant or a dwarf, where her height changed the way in which she had to interact with characters or the world, but she is just a short woman. What scene in the entire story is now undone?
There will be substantive changes made for the shift in medium. Those are of much more concern than this.
Actually, I just realized who this actress reminds me of: Siuan.
@47:
Since I was someone who used the term world-building in that context, I must point out that I specifically limited it to the Carihenin and Moiraine. It is just world-building, and doesn’t affect the plot, or the internal characterization of Moiraine or any other Cairhenin. The Aiel and Rand are another issue entirely. Because that bit of world-building is both a plot and character point in Rand’s arc.
They are not the same thing at all.
@50:
This is how I picture Siuan, ever since watching A Handmaid’s Tale.
“Moiraine is a member of a sisterhood called the Aes Sedai, and she travels the world with a group of five youths (Although…could Nynaeve really be considered a youth?)—“
In the first book, Rand, Matt and Perrin are 20, Nynaeve is 25 and Egwene is 17.
I think she’ll be fantastic…
Good to see a name I recognize for the lead role (at least until Rand becomes the focus, if indeed the series survives its 1st season). I don’t remember other casting decisions for the series. I just hope it turns out well, and that the right characters are cut out in the adaptation. GoT showed us how much butchering was required to suit those in charge, and sometimes even what got left in was butchery. The massive outcry over season 8 will hopefully serve as a good warning to those in charge of the WoT project. Hopefully leading to a series that didn’t seem rushed to its conclusion not just in the ending, but in so many other plot points.
Having another of my favorite book series ruined by an adaptation to the small screen would really suck.
I’m so excited! Rosamund Pike totally looks the part. Her stature is no big deal and her hair can be dyed. Moiraine Sedai’s presence always preceded her wherever she went. If memory serves, reference to her stature was only made whenever she was hurt and Lan had to carry to her to safety. I’m sure an accomplished actress such as Pike can manage to look vulnerable without batting an eye.
I think this is absolutely perfect casting. She looks amazingly close to the way I have always pictured her. Jordan was very imprecise in describing appearances of characters in the books. I think the thing that really matters is that she has the grace, nobility, bearing and acting ability that will really bring out the character. Plus she is close to an A list Hollywood actress which should attract other high profile and skilled actors to the series and raise the prestige level of it. I HATED most of the common choices for Moiraine like Weisz, Baccarin, Ricci..etc none of them IMO would have been able to pull off the character. Pike’s Gone Girl character is already very Aes Sedai-like
I am tired of tall women getting parts for short women. I am sure there were plenty of short qualified wonderful actresses. At 5’2″, this is important. I know that I don’t get the same respect that tall women do.
I like the Instagram filter idea. They need a way to undo the aes sedai look to show the effect of stilling. Also, they are never gonna find enough tall people for aiel etc, so even when it’s significant in the books they’ll have to find another way.
Finally, Jason momoa for Lan
Since I found ‘Pride and Prejudice’ to be one of my favorite movies I love the casting, and the breadth of Pike’s roles gives me a ton of confidence. I’m really happy to see actual casting happening; still kinda feels like it won’t happen.
Speaking of ‘P and P’, a young Keira Knightley would have made a great Min.
Re the height issue:
Get somebody who can act her way out of a paper bag.
The rest you can take care of with camera angles and CGI if you need to.
I agree with 59. And I’m delighted with Rosamund Pike as Moiraine.
Any other casting decisions I haven’t heard about?
Beautiful and absolutely frightening at times, Pike is a wonderful choice for Moiraine! In the days before Supernatural I used to picture M as being Japanese (barely concealed Cairhien), but after, I really clicked with M looking quite a bit like Genevieve Padalecki. GP is about 5’8″ I think … next to her husband, Jared – 6’4″-, she looks very tiny indeed! If this series lasts so long, maybe Gen could play cousin Caraline? :)
I think for the “youths,” which for me includes Nynaeve, they’ll go with relative unknowns for of the lack of ties to other kids/young adult shows, just because that’s what seems to happen when the production isn’t a star vehicle. Hey, well-knowns can act up a storm as polar opposite characters; I’m being selfish here in my love of WoT. This series is one of my all-time favorites and I’m really enjoying this thread! Note: Keep the hate mail but an exception is Cole Sprouse. With his dark dye job, he resonates for me as Matt. /ducks
I also love the idea of Jason Momoa as Lan (add a few grays…), and Morena Baccarin as Lanfear. How about Tom Ellis as Ba’alazamon?! (Or Azmodean…)
I really agree with #41: Morena Baccarin would a perfect Lanfear.
Good with this, just like i see Kate Beckinsale as Vin.
I’m looking forward to the series, I just hope they stay true to the novels. I like the choice for Moiraine. Now that Game of Thrones is off the air, we need another good fantasy series.
I do have a worry that as they target young actors and are making Moraine the focus of the show, which in the books she was one of the main characters never the main one, will cast male characters who are her height taking what was an important element of the books completely out. However, getting a great actress like RP is fantastic for this show. I just hope to enjoy the show for what it is rather than what I wanted especially as I am not the one paying for it.
I think Rosamund Pike is a great actress and would do well but I am concerned about her hair colour! Moiraine was always dark haired in my mind and this was quite fundamental to how we imagined her. I would have chosen someone like Morena Baccarin instead if she were available…
Officially started reading Eye of the World is all I know…. Just got done with the Quarry Road scene with Rand and Tam…. I intentionally have not touch this series since the last one was completed and I read it …. (btw I have read the entire series twice and listened to as well on audio which was awesome) I know some fanatics have me beat by a factor of 10 (meant in a good way) but there are other books too read out there ya know!
Just followed her and Rafe on Instagram . btw Rafe Judkins plans on starting Q & A on Wednesdays on Instagram! And he’s possibly showing location shots and touring around the Future world and land of WOT… you should all check out some of the places he has visited.. one place even looks like it could be Rand And Tam’s Cabin
SOO Cool…
I think Rosamund Pike is perfect for this role…can’t wait to see the rest….hope all the ta’veren are all unknowns…. btw I count the woman as ta’veren also . I know they don’t feel the pull as Rand, Matt and Perrin do but they still seem 100% essential and destined on the Wheel for certain outcomes in the story that unfolded.
Is there a list of the cast members chosen so far?
@69 MW She’s the first one to be cast…. no news on anyone else just yet has come out
Aes Sedai are described as appearing ‘ageless’, not young. Those are different things.
‘Ageless’ refers to it being difficult to guess their age. Your initial impressions on seeing them is that they might be a mature looking 20-something or a youthful-appearing woman in her 40s-50s, or anything in between.
While ‘young’ is just young.
Remember that Nynaeve was always upset that her ‘young’ appearance meant that people did not believe she was an Aes Sedai.
As a short person myself, I would dig the Short Woman With a Presence representation for sure, because it does seem rare, and I do agree that her shortness is a part of her character, but I’m prepared to reserve my general quibbles (not that they matter) for bigger things. There are other parts of her character too, and if the flavor is captured (or even if a new flavor is introduced that somehow captures the spirit but also introduces a new element that makes the visual medium it’s own fun delight) then I’ll consider it a worthwhile endeavor. Which I think would be a good mantra for the show in general.
I thought I was Rand~!!! LOL Started the Series long ago. Hope it turns out good and is a credit to the late Mr. Jordan’s style of writing.
There is something genuinely great about the ‘Wheel of Time’ series. It may have some dull patches later in the series, but there is something wonderful about writing that casts a spell, when you somehow hear stupendous chords of music in the narrative… Sigh! I hope the writers and producers do Jordan’s work justice. ‘Game of Thrones’ was so good it’s a hard act to follow – but I hope the WoT production team do everything they can to equal it.
@64 – ahh, I thought I was the only one. :) I also kind of envisioned an Evanesence-y type soundtrack/feel if that were ever made into a movie/show.
It’s great that people have (already) invested so much emotional energy in choosing suitable performers for a televised WoT. Doesn’t that show the power of Jordan’s work?
As for how it might all pan out, didn’t George R R Martin’s partner Parris tap the shoulder of one of the producers of ‘Game of Thrones’ at the premiere…? ‘Don’t f**k it up,’ she said. – Always good advice!
I can see barney Harris as matrim cauthen. But I’m having a hard time with Marcus Rutherford as Perrin Aybara. Reason Perrin was a big boy and muscular. Marcus is not that built. Barney as mat I can see because he looks goofy but handsome as well. Idk I hope they don’t botch this. WOT is one of my most favs of all.
Agree with 30. Moraine’s stature was intregal to her character and added to the dynamic between her and Rand. Height imparts social perceptions of dominance, so her being able to guide and have a small measure of control over him makes her all the more impressive. She should be short.