Amazon has revealed the first batch of casting announcements for its adaptation of The Wheel of Time! And it’s nearly the entire cast that kicks off the adventure in The Eye of the World, including Nynaeve, Egwene, and the three central ta’veren: Rand, Mat, and Perrin!
(Note: The comments section for this piece will most likely contain spoilers for The Wheel of Time series.)
“It was not about me. It’s never been about me.” @joshastradowsk1 as Rand Al’Thor #WoTWednesday #TwitterOfTime pic.twitter.com/09sArPoM1g
— The Wheel Of Time (@TheWheelOfTime) August 14, 2019
Josha Stradowski will play Rand al’Thor, the Dragon Reborn, the Car’a’carn, He Who Comes with the Dawn, the Coramoor, Shadowkiller, etc… A figure prophesied to destroy the world as much as he saves it. A relative newcomer, Stradowski has had a few roles in mostly Dutch shorts and TV shows, with his most recent appearance in a feature film being the forthcoming Instinct (2019), starring Game of Thrones‘ Carice van Houten and the Aladdin remake’s Marwan Kenzari.
“It was about a man whose family was taken from him, but who stood tall in his sorrow and protected those he could.” @Marcus_Rudda as Perrin Aybara #WoTWednesday #TwitterOfTime pic.twitter.com/4UTcqdpySA
— The Wheel Of Time (@TheWheelOfTime) August 14, 2019
British actor Marcus Rutherford will take on the role of the reliable (and thus constantly annoyed) Perrin Aybara, apprentice blacksmith, dreamwalker, and eventual Wolfbrother. Rutherford played the lead in the 2018 drama Obey, about the 2011 London riots, and will play the role of Sadiq in 2019’s County Lines.
“It was about a hero who insisted with every breath that he was anything but a hero.” @BarneyHarriso as Mat Cauthon #WoTWednesday #TwitterOfTime pic.twitter.com/OWisit2CXM
— The Wheel Of Time (@TheWheelOfTime) August 14, 2019
Barney Harris, who really really looks like how we imagined Matrim Cauthon, will play Matrim Cauthon, the primary source of comic relief in the series and an odds-defying menace. (In a good way, we promise.) Harris is best known for his role as Sykes in Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk (2016), and has appeared in The Hollow Crown (2016), Billionaire Boys Club, and Clique (2017).
“It was about a woman who refused to believe that she could not help, could not heal those who had been harmed.” Zoë Robins as Nynaeve #WoTWednesday #TwitterOfTime pic.twitter.com/o8AUdHD5BZ
— The Wheel Of Time (@TheWheelOfTime) August 14, 2019
Zoë Robins will play Nynaeve al’Meara, an incredibly powerful healer, the appointed Wisdom of her village, and a steely authority in the eyes of Rand, Mat, and Perrin. She is best known for her role as Hayley Roster, the White Ninja Steel Ranger on Power Rangers Ninja Steel, but this isn’t her first epic fantasy adaptation. She also played Zora in the TV version of The Shannara Chronicles.
And: we love that her cast reveal photo included braids.
“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.” @TigerMadden as Egwene Al’Vere #WoTWednesday #TwitterOfTime pic.twitter.com/bBtUdcIT88
— The Wheel Of Time (@TheWheelOfTime) August 14, 2019
Madeleine Madden will play Egwene al’Vere, a super-powerful channeler who discovers her potential when Moiraine comes to their village, and a person who will grow to make decisions upon which the entire world will turn. Madden’s latest role was as Sammy in Dora and the Lost City of Gold (2019), and she has had parts in Tidelands (2018), Picnic at Hanging Rock (2018), and Tomorrow, When the War Began (2016).
These announcements join the initial reveal of Rosamund Pike as Moiraine, the Aes Sedai (i.e.: magic-wielding) character around which the first season of Amazon’s Wheel of Time show will revolve.
Yet to come are the casting decisions for Lan Mandragoran, the loyal Warder of Moiraine, and Thom Merrilin, a gleeman minstrel who finds himself swept up in the proceedings, Elayne Trakand, the princess of Andor, Min Farshaw, a prophet, Loial, the adventurous but anxiety-ridden Ogier, and a whole host of villains.
