"I feel we have a duty to get to the end of the story," Rosamund Pike states in a new interview with Looper to promote The Wheel of Time's second season on Prime Video.
Season 2 of The Wheel of Time premieres on Friday, September 1, and the stars of the show, Pike (Moraine Sedai) and Josha Stradowski (Rand al' Thor) expressed their excitement about returning while also sharing that they're hopeful that they get the chance to cover all fourteen books in the sprawling Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson high fantasy series.
Pike started the interview by expressing her excitement about the show already being confirmed for a third season and her hopes that the show builds an audience that continues to revisit the series over the next 20 years.
"To be in a hit show is a good feeling all around. It means the fans have voted in our favor. The audiences have come to the show, they've come to the platform. It would've been awful if we'd screwed it up because it's such a mighty world that [author] Robert Jordan created."
"I want this show to be a library show for Amazon and be something that's rewatched in 20 years time, not just for now. I feel we have a duty to get to the end of the story. It feels really good to be announcing Season 2 and shooting Season 3 as we do so. Good places. Good times."
Stradowski added that the first season was really about establishing the world and that the next season will see the adaptation really dive into the books.
"It's amazing to see how the show is finding its form. It does feel like, just as in the books, it's something that lives and it's growing. We can now lean onto each other as actors, but also with the writers and the showrunner Rafe [Judkins]. That's a lot of fun. In the first season, we established the stuff and now we can be a bit more funky and get into it, and that's great."
Previous interviews and footage from season 2 of The Wheel of Time have revealed that the season will open with Moiraine and the other characters scattered across the world.
Rand al'Thor will continue to struggle with his newfound powers, and he will be forced to make difficult choices about his future. Moraine will be focusing her efforts on finding Rand.
Perrin Aybara will learn more about his wolfish abilities, and he will have to decide whether to embrace his new nature.
The main cast will return, with the exception of Barney Harris, who played Mat Cauthon in season 1. He was replaced by Dónal Finn. Not much is known about Mat's storyline in season 2 as his character has strayed the furthest from their counterpart in the books.
Fans of the novel are waiting to see if the show will bring Mat's plot back in line with the novels or if it will continue to evolve into something entirely unique to the program.
The lives of five young villagers change forever when a strange and powerful woman arrives, claiming one of them is the child of an ancient prophecy with the power to tip the balance between Light and Dark forever. They must choose whether to trust this stranger – and each other – with the fate of the world before the Dark One breaks out of His prison, and the Last Battle begins.