The Age of Legends: Exploring the Prequel to The Wheel of Time
A deep dive into the upcoming prequel film, The Age of Legends, which is part of the expansive Wheel of Time universe.
Introduction
Amazon Prime Video has found great success with its TV adaptation of The Wheel of Time, and now the studio is producing The Age of Legends, a prequel film which is the first part of a planned trilogy. Based on the epic series of high-fantasy novels by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson, The Wheel of Time chronicles Moiraine Damodred (Rosamund Pike) as she seeks out the Dragon Reborn, the person prophesied as either the world's savior or destroyer. Adapting the massive series is no small feat, but Prime Video pulled out all the stops when making The Wheel of Time as epic as it needed to be.
The Dark One in The Wheel of Time
Met with positive critical attention from the outset, The Wheel of Time also proved to be one of the more popular Amazon Prime Video original shows, and the studio hastily greenlit the second and third seasons. Jordan and Sanderson's fantasy universe is stuffed to the brim with lore, and it became clear early on that a single TV series was not enough to encapsulate the late Jordan's massive vision. Therefore, Amazon Prime Video has stepped out of the TV format with The Age of Legends, and has big plans for the future of their fantasy franchise.
An illustration of the villains from Wheel of Time
The Age of Legends, the first part of a trilogy of planned prequels, was announced in December 2023, and Amazon revealed a lot of fascinating details about their larger plan. Kari Skogland, known for directing the MCU's The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, has been tapped to direct, while X-Men: First Class screenwriter Zack Stentz is set to write. This move indicates that Amazon has an MCU-like plan for The Wheel of Time franchise.
Wheel of Time Dark One
The Age of Legends: Cast and Story
As for the cast of The Age of Legends, nothing has been revealed yet. Considering that it is set thousands of years before The Wheel of Time, it is highly unlikely that many familiar characters will show up. The film is set to focus on the rise of The Wheel of Time's Dark One as he leads his band of Forsaken, and that will require a new actor to step into the role. The exact specifics of the story haven't been revealed yet, but it will likely flesh out parts of Jordan and Sanderson's story that were merely hinted at in the books.
wheel-of-time-moiraine-elaida-reference-liandrin-theory
The main linking point between The Wheel of Time and The Age of Legends is The Dark One himself, who is essentially the omnipresent villain of the entire franchise. The Age of Legends is set thousands of years before The Wheel of Time, and will therefore serve as backstory for the franchise's big bad that has merely been hinted at in the series thus far. The Dark One continues to be a big part of The Wheel of Time book series until the very end, and The Age of Legends can expand upon that mythology in ways the show can't.
The Future of The Wheel of Time Franchise
It is unknown what the other films in the planned trilogy will cover, but it can be assumed that they will touch on other parts of the franchise's history. Amazon Prime Video has big plans for the future of their fantasy franchise, and The Age of Legends is just the beginning of a larger expansion. With the success of The Wheel of Time, there is much anticipation and excitement surrounding the prequel film and the potential for more stories set in this rich and expansive universe.
