For many high fantasy readers, after J. R. R. Tolkien's The Fellowship of the Ring, the two biggest fantasy series are George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire and Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time.
And while the biggest complaint among the fandom is that Martin might never finish his series, the biggest complaint about The Wheel of Time is that the series is too long and that each tome, is too thick.
Showrunner Rafe Judkins seemingly touched on the second complaint in a recent interview with SFX Magazine ahead of the release of the third season of Amazon's underrated adaptation.
Said Judkins, "I can see versions of the show that are six or seven seasons, but part of what makes the series great is the length."
He then went on to add, "It's one of the reasons people read it and it stands alone in that sense. But I'm always realistic. I'm sure everyone will be happy if they're like, 'Oh, can you just do a satisfying ending in season 4 because we don't make shows that long anymore.'"
"The truth is, the property doesn't lend itself well to that. My job is to do everything I can to get it to the end and give you Jordan's ending because it's so powerful. It really does stick the landing. If we don't, my job is to make sure we're telling a great story up to that point."
The Wheel of Time season 3 will begin streaming on Prime Video, March 13.
The first two seasons of the Amazon Prime Video fantasy adaptation have covered the first three books and a small portion of the fourth (The Eye of the World, The Great Hunt, The Dragon Reborn, and a portion of The Shadow Rising).
Speaking to the crowd at a past New York Comic Con, Judkins stated, "Every season, we sit down in the writers room and one of the things that we do at the very beginning is pick out a couple of the stories that we have to carve out a space to make a whole episode for."
He continued, "We think it’s worth it because those stories will really stand out to an audience, especially that didn’t read the books. They’re given that time, and it’s carved out, so they can really follow that character on that journey."
More interestingly, Judkins divulged, "The first season was more of the group journey that had the one big Moraine episode, but for seasons two and three, we’ve really carved out two episodes of season that can really be devoted characters. This season was a really big Egweyne and Nynaeve season for us. Next season is a really big Rand [and] Perrison season for us. There are always different characters who are rising in importance."
About The Wheel of Time season 3
Based on the international best-selling book series by Robert Jordan, The Wheel of Time is a visionary fantasy that tells the story of a man destined to face the Dark One and save the world - or destroy it. In Season 3, as threats against the Light are multiplying, Moiraine Damodred (Rosamund Pike) and Rand al'Thor (Josha Stradowski) embark on a perilous journey to the Aiel Waste to uncover the true fate of the Dragon Reborn. With the Forsaken in hot pursuit and Rand’s corrupted power growing stronger, Moraine must prevent the Dragon from turning Dark… no matter the cost.