WHEEL OF TIME TV series watching thread (spoilers!) (was: 'So, the WHEEL OF TIME TV series is a go at Sony' thread
#781
Posted 05 September 2025 - 09:26 PM
When I said I thought it would happen fast for Hollywood time I had in mind like 2-4 yrs.
Sony and Amazon wiping their hands clean of the stink in mere months didn’t enter my head for sure. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s taken off the menu now on Prime like Willow was on D+.
That whammy yesterday gives me hope someone faithful is actively dealing to get the rights. We really need IWoT out also.
Sony and Amazon wiping their hands clean of the stink in mere months didn’t enter my head for sure. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s taken off the menu now on Prime like Willow was on D+.
That whammy yesterday gives me hope someone faithful is actively dealing to get the rights. We really need IWoT out also.
Drive by bye bye king on my dumb horse
#782
Posted 06 September 2025 - 08:29 AM
I dont get the hate.
Maybe its because I was never a diehard fan boi of the books and fully acknowledged they needed some serious editing and Jordan certainly needed some of his fetishism reigned in. Overall I thought the show fine and I wasnt that far off a reread/first time of Sanderson finish read.
Maybe its because I was never a diehard fan boi of the books and fully acknowledged they needed some serious editing and Jordan certainly needed some of his fetishism reigned in. Overall I thought the show fine and I wasnt that far off a reread/first time of Sanderson finish read.
2012
"Imperial Gothos, Imperial"
"Imperial Gothos, Imperial"
#783
Posted 06 September 2025 - 04:41 PM
Macros, on 06 September 2025 - 08:29 AM, said:
I dont get the hate.
Maybe its because I was never a diehard fan boi of the books and fully acknowledged they needed some serious editing and Jordan certainly needed some of his fetishism reigned in. Overall I thought the show fine and I wasnt that far off a reread/first time of Sanderson finish read.
Maybe its because I was never a diehard fan boi of the books and fully acknowledged they needed some serious editing and Jordan certainly needed some of his fetishism reigned in. Overall I thought the show fine and I wasnt that far off a reread/first time of Sanderson finish read.
Same, and I think it only suffered cancellation due to the fact that ROP costs so much, not becuase it was bad. It was pretty great TV in our house.
"When the last tree has fallen, and the rivers are poisoned, you cannot eat money, oh no." ~Aurora
"Someone will always try to sell you despair, just so they don't feel alone." ~Ursula Vernon
"Someone will always try to sell you despair, just so they don't feel alone." ~Ursula Vernon
#784
Posted 06 September 2025 - 08:13 PM
Eh, there's a lot of people that object to any change, but there's a lot of people who dismiss any criticism as 'you just hate change' Most people are somewhere in between.
There are some crazy creative choices, even taken on its own, like Moiraine being thanked for being the only support Rand has when the only reason she's his only support is she intentionally sabotaged all his other support.
Continuity is bizarrely badly done. But it was never so terrible that I thought they'd drop the rights like this. IWOT is still holding on to them, probably out of spite.
There are some crazy creative choices, even taken on its own, like Moiraine being thanked for being the only support Rand has when the only reason she's his only support is she intentionally sabotaged all his other support.
Continuity is bizarrely badly done. But it was never so terrible that I thought they'd drop the rights like this. IWOT is still holding on to them, probably out of spite.
#785
Posted 08 September 2025 - 07:34 AM
Dropping the rights completely seems like a bizarrely extreme move - whilst I agree there were some very strange choices made, there were also some excellent ones and there were a lot of strengths too, particularly in the third series.
I do wonder if they'd have stuck it out (at least a little longer) f it wasn't being made at the same time as ROP which is incredibly expensive, but we'll never know.
I do wonder if they'd have stuck it out (at least a little longer) f it wasn't being made at the same time as ROP which is incredibly expensive, but we'll never know.
- Wyrd bið ful aræd -
#786
Posted 09 September 2025 - 12:28 PM
Amazon has the money to keep it going if it wanted to. WOT was very unlucky with Covid and strikes, but it didn't do brilliant with what it had.
#787
Posted 09 September 2025 - 02:09 PM
the broken, on 09 September 2025 - 12:28 PM, said:
Amazon has the money to keep it going if it wanted to. ...
Sure, but if it's not making money why would they?
Hope that long term the series generates so much buzz that DVD sets and merch sales generate massive profit? Unlikely. Resale to networks/secondary streamers? They can do that now.
Movie sequels? Who are we kidding?
I like the show, i would have liked more of it, but realistically it was evident it would never be GAME OF THRONES.
THIS IS YOUR REMINDER THAT THERE IS A
'VIEW NEW CONTENT' BUTTON THAT
ALLOWS YOU TO VIEW NEW CONTENT
'VIEW NEW CONTENT' BUTTON THAT
ALLOWS YOU TO VIEW NEW CONTENT
#788
Posted 09 September 2025 - 03:16 PM
Abyss, on 09 September 2025 - 02:09 PM, said:
Sure, but if it's not making money why would they?
From Reddit fwiw:
Quote
The real cost for WoT was reportedly [...] Total for two seasons: $260m.
RoP was reportedly about $900m for the first two seasons, plus the $250m rights fee. So allocating $100m of the rights to RoP's first two seasons, the total for two seasons: $1b.
That means WoT generated about $100m in "profit" through two seasons whereas RoP is about $700m in the red.
https://www.reddit.c..._which_fantasy/
Possibly getting the supposed total cost figures from this:
Quote
According to financial filings in the UK by production company Little Island Productions, The Wheel of Time spent over $260 million on the first two seasons. All private companies in the United Kingdom are required to file their financials with the Companies House, the UK's company registrar.
[...] As for how much production spent to produce season 1, across the three reporting periods, the "Cost of sales" totaled £107.4 million, or about $139.7 million dollars. The initial report for season 1 stated that "it is expected that the budgeted production costs for the television programme will increase by 8-10% due to ongoing obligations and crew contracts." According to this information, the first season apparently required an additional $10.4-$12.7 million due to COVID.
Season two's filings show a total of £95.4 million, or $124.1 million.
https://www.wotserie...st-two-seasons/
[...] As for how much production spent to produce season 1, across the three reporting periods, the "Cost of sales" totaled £107.4 million, or about $139.7 million dollars. The initial report for season 1 stated that "it is expected that the budgeted production costs for the television programme will increase by 8-10% due to ongoing obligations and crew contracts." According to this information, the first season apparently required an additional $10.4-$12.7 million due to COVID.
Season two's filings show a total of £95.4 million, or $124.1 million.
https://www.wotserie...st-two-seasons/
Anyone care to find a better source than "WOTSeries.com" for those numbers?
Estimated revenue from streaming for WoT apparently came from a Yahoo Finance article:
https://finance.yaho...-175510647.html
$360 million... so 360-(124.1+139.7) = 96.2 million, unless there were other substantial costs not included in those figures and exceeding 96.2 million.
[Edit: to clarify, that's just estimated revenue from subscriptions for streaming---not from increased book sales or merchandise, etc.]
This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 09 September 2025 - 03:18 PM
#789
Posted 09 September 2025 - 09:34 PM
Tough to tell, because most streaming services are just about watching, but people get Amazon memberships to buy new kettles
I believe parrot analytics measures social media engagement, so angry rants count towards impacts. Essentially this is even more opaque than usual.
I believe parrot analytics measures social media engagement, so angry rants count towards impacts. Essentially this is even more opaque than usual.
#790
Posted 18 September 2025 - 07:21 AM
IWoT sent some emails out to people stating that Sony still has rights also and it was only Amazon that bowed out. They do say that although the show is officially dead in past form that they want to make an AoL film or trilogy. I could be down with that if they don’t reuse anything from WoP. They would just be batshit crazy if they did just in my opinion.
Drive by bye bye king on my dumb horse
#791
Posted 18 September 2025 - 12:30 PM
Really?
HIgh magic, high tech AOL is going to be much more difficult to bring to screen than WOT was. I don't think this is a good plan.
HIgh magic, high tech AOL is going to be much more difficult to bring to screen than WOT was. I don't think this is a good plan.
#792
Posted 18 September 2025 - 01:21 PM
the broken, on 18 September 2025 - 12:30 PM, said:
Really?
HIgh magic, high tech AOL is going to be much more difficult to bring to screen than WOT was. I don't think this is a good plan.
HIgh magic, high tech AOL is going to be much more difficult to bring to screen than WOT was. I don't think this is a good plan.
It's a trash plan, tho arguably RING OF POWER demonstrates there's a market for prequel stories series and the FANTASTIC FOUR film among others demonstrates the fx are there to make it look more or less right.
Logic would suggest someone pick up all the rights including the three seasons and roll w it, but whether anyone has the appetite for that... iffy. I wouldn't trust Netflix, doesn't really fit HBO, Paramount is in the Amazon camp... maybe Disney but realistically w SW and Marvel and Pixar and their own they don't need another licensed long running deep lore series. Apple, maybe.... their 'fantasy slot' isn't occupied, i think, i don't follow them closely but between FOUNDATION and MURDERBOT they have the sf angle covered, this would extend across a similar audience.
THIS IS YOUR REMINDER THAT THERE IS A
'VIEW NEW CONTENT' BUTTON THAT
ALLOWS YOU TO VIEW NEW CONTENT
'VIEW NEW CONTENT' BUTTON THAT
ALLOWS YOU TO VIEW NEW CONTENT
#793
Posted 18 September 2025 - 06:00 PM
Abyss, on 18 September 2025 - 01:21 PM, said:
the broken, on 18 September 2025 - 12:30 PM, said:
Really?
HIgh magic, high tech AOL is going to be much more difficult to bring to screen than WOT was. I don't think this is a good plan.
HIgh magic, high tech AOL is going to be much more difficult to bring to screen than WOT was. I don't think this is a good plan.
It's a trash plan, tho arguably RING OF POWER demonstrates there's a market for prequel stories series and the FANTASTIC FOUR film among others demonstrates the fx are there to make it look more or less right.
Logic would suggest someone pick up all the rights including the three seasons and roll w it, but whether anyone has the appetite for that... iffy. I wouldn't trust Netflix, doesn't really fit HBO, Paramount is in the Amazon camp... maybe Disney but realistically w SW and Marvel and Pixar and their own they don't need another licensed long running deep lore series. Apple, maybe.... their 'fantasy slot' isn't occupied, i think, i don't follow them closely but between FOUNDATION and MURDERBOT they have the sf angle covered, this would extend across a similar audience.
HBO would be fine. More BDSM lanfear and pillow friends everywhere.
The way to do justice to Wheel of time is simple. Animation! I think an animated version would be able to do the 'fx' the show needs. One power strands in 5 colours, hordes of trollocs, borderlander armies, a Lan who is the perfect swordsman, a white tower that awes etc. All of these things are possible for a relativly low budget with art.
Id also prefer an animated Stomrlight archive, red rising etc than live action.
The LotR movies were amazing. I read the books first and still loved the adaption. It was a loving, true to the source adaption that worked. Its sadly the exception rather than the formulae to follow.
This post has been edited by Cause: 18 September 2025 - 06:01 PM
#794
Posted 18 September 2025 - 06:50 PM
Cause, on 18 September 2025 - 06:00 PM, said:
Abyss, on 18 September 2025 - 01:21 PM, said:
the broken, on 18 September 2025 - 12:30 PM, said:
Really?
HIgh magic, high tech AOL is going to be much more difficult to bring to screen than WOT was. I don't think this is a good plan.
HIgh magic, high tech AOL is going to be much more difficult to bring to screen than WOT was. I don't think this is a good plan.
It's a trash plan, tho arguably RING OF POWER demonstrates there's a market for prequel stories series and the FANTASTIC FOUR film among others demonstrates the fx are there to make it look more or less right.
Logic would suggest someone pick up all the rights including the three seasons and roll w it, but whether anyone has the appetite for that... iffy. I wouldn't trust Netflix, doesn't really fit HBO, Paramount is in the Amazon camp... maybe Disney but realistically w SW and Marvel and Pixar and their own they don't need another licensed long running deep lore series. Apple, maybe.... their 'fantasy slot' isn't occupied, i think, i don't follow them closely but between FOUNDATION and MURDERBOT they have the sf angle covered, this would extend across a similar audience.
HBO would be fine. More BDSM lanfear and pillow friends everywhere.
The way to do justice to Wheel of time is simple. Animation! I think an animated version would be able to do the 'fx' the show needs. One power strands in 5 colours, hordes of trollocs, borderlander armies, a Lan who is the perfect swordsman, a white tower that awes etc. All of these things are possible for a relativly low budget with art.
Id also prefer an animated Stomrlight archive, red rising etc than live action.
The LotR movies were amazing. I read the books first and still loved the adaption. It was a loving, true to the source adaption that worked. Its sadly the exception rather than the formulae to follow.
HBO has HOUSE OF THE DRAGON, and they're not likely to want something that's comparatively fantasy-lite but just as expensive.
The animation argument has been around forever and you're not wrong, it would fit - VOX MACHINA makes that clear among other titles - but the payoff is almost automatically perceived to be lower. LotR and GoT set the benchmarks for movies and tv respectively and steamer/networks just don't take animation as seriously. It's half the reason Netflix is kicking itself over sending KPOP DEMON HUNTERS to streaming instead of theaters. Of course there's the animated DEMON SLAYER INFINITY CASTLE currently making a bazillion dollars in theaters, but even that had a completed manga and four seasons of tv as buildup.
THIS IS YOUR REMINDER THAT THERE IS A
'VIEW NEW CONTENT' BUTTON THAT
ALLOWS YOU TO VIEW NEW CONTENT
'VIEW NEW CONTENT' BUTTON THAT
ALLOWS YOU TO VIEW NEW CONTENT
#795
Posted 19 September 2025 - 03:03 PM
War of the Rohirrim pretty much vanished without trace, animation could work, but likely in a 'low effort, low investment' way
#796
Posted 19 September 2025 - 03:55 PM
the broken, on 19 September 2025 - 03:03 PM, said:
War of the Rohirrim pretty much vanished without trace, animation could work, but likely in a 'low effort, low investment' way
That was odd, heavy initial marketing push that ended very abruptly, then just kind of ignored, likely because it wasn't well received.
I watched it, it was fine, arguably better than large chunks of THE HOBBIT movies, but it didn't leave me frothing for more animated LotR content.
Maybe it's not that a WoT animated series cannot be good, it's that the preconceived notion is already there that it won't be.
THIS IS YOUR REMINDER THAT THERE IS A
'VIEW NEW CONTENT' BUTTON THAT
ALLOWS YOU TO VIEW NEW CONTENT
'VIEW NEW CONTENT' BUTTON THAT
ALLOWS YOU TO VIEW NEW CONTENT
#797
Posted 19 September 2025 - 08:57 PM
It can be good of course, but they'd have to commit to it properly, and the temptation to phone it in would be strong.
War of Rohirrim wasn't bad, but it was one of the most generic things I've ever seen.
War of Rohirrim wasn't bad, but it was one of the most generic things I've ever seen.
#798
Posted 20 September 2025 - 12:05 AM
I would argue War of the Rohirim failed because I am prime a target audience it could have had and I didn’t care one bit. I didn’t care because it smacked of cashing in on a franchise. It’s not lord of the rings, it’s not the hobbit and it’s not the simalrilion.
They invented a movie out of whole cloth (okay a historical foot note buried in the appendix).
I would have been more interested in it wasn’t related to Lotr.
We used to make and consume fresh IP and by god one day we may again.
They invented a movie out of whole cloth (okay a historical foot note buried in the appendix).
I would have been more interested in it wasn’t related to Lotr.
We used to make and consume fresh IP and by god one day we may again.
#799
Posted 07 October 2025 - 06:26 PM
Welp, finally finished S3, and yep, that's too bad, it was getting better and better. I will wonder (briefly) how certain creative choices for eps 7 and 8 were based on no hope for pickup. I would have watched more, i'll survive without it just fine.
THIS IS YOUR REMINDER THAT THERE IS A
'VIEW NEW CONTENT' BUTTON THAT
ALLOWS YOU TO VIEW NEW CONTENT
'VIEW NEW CONTENT' BUTTON THAT
ALLOWS YOU TO VIEW NEW CONTENT