Over a year ago now, the TV fantasy world was rocked when Prime Video’s ambitious sci-fi series The Wheel of Time was canceled after Season 3. The decision, which was said to be merely financial per reports from Deadline, took fans by surprise, not only because of Robert Jordan‘s massive 14-book series that had much more original source material to offer, but because the series had finally found its groove. After a troubling first season, The Wheel of Time only improved season after season, culminating in being one of the best fantasy shows on TV in Season 3 with a 97% critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
But while the series’ considerable improvements weren’t enough to save it, the cancelation has provided the IP a chance to reassess and redo. And, as of March of this year, Jordan’s novels are heading in a completely different direction. Per Variety, iwot Studios, which owns the rights to Jordan’s beloved fantasy novels, is now partnering with Arcane producer and Riot Games’ “League of Legends” vet Thomas Vu as well as Anthony Borquez’s media company, Initiate Entertainment, in a slew of new projects, including a new video game, animated feature films and a new animated television series.
‘The Wheel of Time’ Reboot Will Give the Franchise New Life
While viewers of The Wheel of Time were saddened by the series’ cancelation, the new batch of projects could give Jordan’s stories a breath of fresh air, and even be a better match for his expansive world-building and fantasy arcs. After all, while Prime Video spared no expense in making its live-action series, an animated TV series, animated films, and a video game give The Wheel of Time a better shot at matching the scale and mythology of Jordan’s world. Many even called it when the live-action series was announced, claiming that while the project was exciting and ambitious, live-action meant it would be a long, expensive project, especially given the COVID-19 delays that affected Season 1. Animated series, movies and games, on the other hand, lend themselves to sticking closer to the source material while, most times, costing a fraction of the price.
In the announcement, that’s precisely what Vu reiterated: the opportunity to expand the universe more than ever before. «I see tremendous opportunity in expanding The Wheel of Time into fully authentic, integrated, interactive, and animated storytelling experiences,” Vu said in a statement to Variety. “The depth of the mythology provides a foundation for sustained, multi-platform franchise growth.” iwot Studios CEO Rick Selvage echoed those sentiments, saying, «Thomas has consistently demonstrated the ability to scale narrative worlds into global entertainment franchises. His background at the intersection of storytelling, technology, and franchise architecture makes him uniquely suited to help expand The Wheel of Time in new immersive formats.»
Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Personality Quiz Which Sci-Fi Hero Are You Most Like? Paul Atreides · Captain Kirk · Princess Leia · Ellen Ripley · Max Rockatansky
Five iconic heroes. Five completely different ways of facing an impossible universe. One of them shares your instincts, your values, and your particular way of refusing to back down. Eight questions will tell you which one.
🏜️Paul Atreides
🖖Capt. Kirk
✊Princess Leia
🔦Ellen Ripley
🔥Max Rockatansky
01
How do you lead when the stakes couldn’t be higher? The way you lead under pressure is the most honest thing about you.
02
What is your greatest strength in a crisis? The quality that keeps you alive when everything else fails.
03
What is the thing you’d sacrifice everything else for? Your deepest motivation is your truest compass.
04
How do you relate to the people around you? Who you are to others under pressure is who you really are.
05
You’re facing a threat that no one else believes is real. What do you do? How you respond when you’re the only one who sees it defines everything.
06
What has your heroism cost you personally? Every hero pays. The question is what — and whether they’d pay it again.
07
How do you feel about the rules of the world you’re in? Every hero has a relationship with the system. What’s yours?
08
When everything is on the line, what keeps you going? The answer is the most honest thing about you.
Your Hero Has Been Identified Your Sci-Fi Hero Is…
Your answers point to the iconic sci-fi hero who shares your instincts, your values, and your particular way of facing the impossible.
Arrakis · Dune
Paul Atreides
You carry a weight most people would crumble under — the knowledge of what you’re capable of, and the burden of what you might have to become.
You see further ahead than others and you plan accordingly, even when the vision frightens you.
You are driven by loyalty to your people and a sense of destiny you didn’t ask for but can’t escape.
Paul Atreides is not simply a hero — he is someone who understands the cost of power and chooses to bear it anyway.
That gravity, that willingness to carry what others won’t, is exactly you.
USS Enterprise · Star Trek
Captain Kirk
You lead with instinct, warmth, and an absolute refusal to accept a no-win scenario — because you’ve always believed there’s a third option nobody else has thought of yet.
You take the mission seriously without ever taking yourself too seriously.
Your crew would follow you anywhere, not because you demand it, but because you’ve earned it.
Kirk’s genius isn’t tactical — it’s human. He reads people, bends rules with purpose, and wills outcomes into existence through sheer conviction.
That combination of warmth, audacity, and relentless optimism is unmistakably yours.
The Rebellion · Star Wars
Princess Leia
You are the kind of person who holds the line when everyone else is losing faith — not because you’re fearless, but because giving up simply isn’t something you’re capable of.
You lead through conviction. Your voice carries because your belief is unshakeable.
You gave up everything ordinary the moment you chose the cause, and you’ve never looked back.
Leia is not a supporting character in her own story — she is the moral centre of the entire rebellion.
That same fierce, principled, unbreakable core is what defines you.
The Nostromo · Alien
Ellen Ripley
You are not reckless, not grandiose, and not particularly interested in being anyone’s hero — you just refuse to stop when it matters.
You see threats clearly, you document the truth even when no one listens, and when the time comes you handle it yourself.
Ripley’s heroism is earned, not performed. She doesn’t have a speech — she has a flamethrower and a plan.
You share her composure under the worst possible pressure, and her refusal to pretend the monster isn’t there.
When it counts, you don’t flinch. That’s everything.
The Wasteland · Mad Max
Max Rockatansky
You have been through fire that would break most people — and what came out the other side is something the world underestimates at its peril.
You don’t ask for help, don’t need validation, and don’t wait for anyone to tell you the rules no longer apply.
Your loyalty, when it finally arrives, is absolute — but it’s earned in silence and tested in action, not in words.
Max is not a nihilist. He is someone who lost everything and found, against his will, that he still has something worth protecting.
That bruised, stubborn, ultimately human core is exactly yours.
The New ‘Wheel of Time’ Projects Will Target New Audiences
Plus, by venturing out into an animated series and a video game, the new Wheel of Time reboot will cater to younger audiences more than the live-action series ever did. By doing so, the projects set the franchise up long-term, potentially turning the reboot into an all-out franchise-building sensation, rather than just a series replacement. After all, while iwot Studios made it clear that they weren’t done with Jordan’s stories after the Prime Video cancellation last year, the new projects cater to a better audience, all while allowing them to expand and align themselves closer to the original source material.
Prime Video’s 3-Part Fantasy Saga Is Officially Returning 1 Year After Shock Cancellation
Fans still aren’t over Prime Video’s sudden cancellation of the series.
With all that said, while Prime Video’s cancelation of Wheel of Time last year disappointed fans, the IP is moving on to seemingly greater and better things as it shifts direction into an animated TV series, feature films and a video game. The reboot will surely be a change for fans of the live-action series, but evidence suggests that it could be the switch-up the series needed to find success and establish itself as the multi-format, fan-favorite franchise it’s always hoped for.
Release Date
2021 – 2025-00-00
Network
Prime Video
Showrunner
Rafe Judkins
Directors
Sanaa Hamri, Ciaran Donnelly, Salli Richardson-Whitfield, Thomas Napper, Maja Vrvilo, Wayne Che Yip
Writers
Amanda Kate Shuman, Dave Hill, Rohit Kumar, Justine Juel Gillmer, Celine Song, Rammy Park, The Clarksons Twins, Katherine B. McKenna
