Season 3 of The Wheel of Time continues the trend of a long break between seasons, but at least it will bring some big changes to the show.
The Direct was able to sit down with stars Rosamund Pike (Moiraine), Josha Stradowski (Rand), Daniel Henny (Lan Mandragoran), and Sophie Okonedo (Siuan Sache) to talk about how Season 3 has evolved from previous ones.
The Wheel of Time Stars Explain Season 3's Release Gap & Evolution
"Season 3 Is Where We've Always Dreamt That the Show Could Be:"
- The Direct: "How would you say that Season 3 has evolved the show [compared to] the previous seasons?
Daniel Henney: Each season has gotten bigger and better. To be honest with you, this season in particular, we've changed some things with our cameras, and things we're shooting much wider now. So you're gonna, especially the battle sequences, you're going to be able to see a lot more.
We're going to be able to have two or three fights happening simultaneously that, you know, we could do in the past, but not quite as clearly, being able to pull focus in a really cool way. So it's going to feel much larger in scale.
Henney went on to point out how their "special effects are getting better constantly" and that "VFX and post" are why it takes so long for the show to return every season:
Henney: [Our] special effects are getting better constantly. That's why it does take so long for our show to come back season after season because, you know, it's a long time in VFX and post, but hopefully, when you see Season 3, you'll see why.
For comparison, Season 1 ended in late December 2021 and returned with Season 2 in early September 2023, nearly 22 months later.
Season 2 ended in early October 2023, with Season 3 premiering in mid-March this year—a shorter wait of only 17 months (likely due to there being no strikes in the industry this time around)
Commenting on how the show has evolved with this third season, Sophie Okonedo added that she truly feels that Season 3 "is the best one:"
Sophie Okonedo: I think it just got more—it's really hard to start a show like this that has such a kind of fan base, and people have strong ideas about it. And I can imagine, not that I'm, you know, I'm not in [Showrunner Rafe Judekin's] position, but it's really hard to start a show to be as confident. I think it [has] just grown in confidence.
And so you can just go places, and you can be more daring each season. So that's why I think even Season 2, for me, was like, wow. And I think when I read these scripts, I was like, I think this is the best one.
Offering a similar sentiment, star Rosamund Pike explained how "Season 3 Is where we've always dreamt that the show could be:"
Rosamund Pike: Season 3 is where we've always dreamt that the show could be. The scripts are supercharged with conflict and drama. The stakes are really high.
You know that from the first 10 minutes... Everything that we thought we knew about this world is crumbling. There are forces, dark forces at work, that we never anticipated.
We've also spread the screen into widescreen. We can see more of our worlds. We've got something that's more cinematic, more beautiful to look at. And we travel all the way to the deserts of South Africa to give a kind of completely new color and texture to this season.
Watch The Direct's interview with Rosamund Pike and Josha Stradowski below:
The discussion with Daniel Henney and Sophie Okonedo can be viewed here:
Season 3 of The Wheel of Time will premiere only on Amazon Studios' Prime Video on March 13.
