'The Expanse' Alum Vying for Fan-Favorite Role on 'The Wheel of Time'

By Michael Hein

Fans of The Wheel of Time have actress Shohreh Aghdashloo in mind for a very specific part, and she is definitely interested. Aghdashloo played Chrisjen Avasarala on The Expanse, and her performance there convinced many fans that she should play the Aes Sedai Cadsuane Melaidrhin on Wheel of Time. It's not clear if Aghdashloo is truly in contention for the role, but her latest tweet on Wednesday had fans fired up.

Wheel of Time fans have been dying for news and updates on Season 2, and in the meantime, they've been discussing their theories, hopes and speculations on social media. That has included lots of discussion of Aghdashloo playing Cadsuane, since she has entertained the idea in her tweets many times. On Wednesday, fans in favor of this casting idea shared a clip from The Expanse Season 2 which caught Aghdashloo's eye. Fans felt it conveyed the same "gravitas" she would need to play Cadsuane Sedai.

"You made my day! This is my favorite monologue in [The Expanse]," Aghdashloo wrote. She then tagged Wheel of Time showrunner Rafe Judkins, saying that the clip was for his "consideration" with a winking emoji. Judkins did not respond, though of course he may not have been allowed to.

Fans have been proposing Aghdashloo for the role of Cadsuane since 2021, and for most of that time, she has been in favor of the idea. Now, it's almost as if she is campaigning for the part, and fans are obviously on her side. However, the fact that she's still participating in these discussions may indicate that she hasn't signed on yet, which could be a bad sign.

On the other hand, there's probably not a rush. The Wheel of Time is moving slightly faster than its source material – a series of 14 epic fantasy novels by Robert Jordan – but even so it probably won't introduce Cadsuane for quite some time. Cadsuane becomes an important character later in the story, introduced in the seventh book, A Crown of Swords. The first season of the TV show covered events mostly from the first book, while Season 2 is expected to begin remixing material from the subsequent books more and more. As the show tries to put its spin on the books' long and meandering plot, there's a chance Cadsuane could appear in the show early and as much chance that she could be held back for later.

Aghdashloo's connection to Amazon Prime Video likely doesn't hurt her chances either. The actress was a fan-favorite star in one of the streamer's most iconic projects, The Expanse, which it rescued from cancellation. Fans have noted that the TV series ended before the finale of the book series, which includes a substantial time skip. That has led to fan theories and hopes that The Expanse will be "revived" in a few years and the story completed. If so, it's possible that the cast and crew maintain some connections at Prime Video, which would make it easier to get cast in other shows.

The Wheel of Time Season 2 was scheduled to conclude filming in February of 2022, and while we have gotten some teasers, so far we have not gotten any hint of a release date. Season 1 is streaming now on Prime Video along with all six seasons of The Expanse.

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