'Wheel of Time' Main Cast Speaks on 'Expansive' Fantasy Series Ahead of Premiere

With just over a week until The Wheel of Time TV adaptation premieres, the main cast of the show is teasing the immense scope of this fantasy epic. Stars Josha Stradowski, Marcus Rutherford, Madeleine Madden and Zoe Robins spoke to PopCulture.com and several other outlets about the series in a press junket. To sum the show up in a word, Rutherford thinks it is "expansive."

"You know, the world is very, very expansive... There's so many different cultures and so many different kind of landscapes and cities and towns that the characters to go," Rutherford said of the breadth of the series. "But I think what's kind of different is this element of the power balance between the genders, and within the magic system, women being the only ones who are allowed access to it. So I think that's something that's quite refreshing within our series."

Rutherford also spoke to the prolonged preparation process for this series, revealing that he and his castmates had spent a lot of time learning the skills they would have needed to have in this fantasy world before the shooting even started. He said they picked up "all the combat training, sword fighting, you know - horse riding, all those skills that you have to learn, that's quite specific to the genre." Stradowski said that all of their "lives have totally changed" since taking on this project.

Those preparations took about a month, during which time Stradowski said the cast grew close. After that, Rutherford said that they had all signed on for "a long shoot anyway, about nine, ten months," but the job stretched on even longer when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. He said that pushing through those delays without losing "that momentum" made the cast and crew stronger and brought them closer together.

Madden and Robins echoed many of these sentiments about the source material, with an emphasis on the unique style of feminism represented in this series. Madden noted that "in The Wheel of Time, a woman going after what she wants isn't something that is radical," while Robins said that "it's wonderful, it's refreshing" to work on a fantasy series driven by women both on-screen and off.

"For me personally, the strongest people in my life who I know are women," she went on, "so to be able to look around on set and see these incredible actresses, equally amazing roles with such power... I've had a lot of overwhelming moments. I think that it's not forced - this equality between men and women, and the balance... The theme of recognizing how much we need and depend on each other is really beautiful and different. I think we've made something really quite special."

More than anyone, Robins credited the authenticity of the story to the die-hard fans of the books. Speaking of her own character Nynaeve, she said embodying the role "wasn't much of a struggle for me. I mean, I first approached Nynaeve through the internet. There's so much, you know? Fan videos, and articles, and blogs about the world of The Wheel of Time, but in particular Nynaeve, and what makes her tick. What people first thought of her on their first read, and their second read, and how it changed and shifted. As an actress, everything was on the page."

Madden was a bit blunter about how her character, Egwene, had been changed in someones but not in others. She said: "She's definitely breaking social constructs and isn't conforming to the social norms. In our world, you know, there is a matriarchal society and if you want to go off and be your own independent woman, then there's nothing wrong with that. So, you know, I think in our adaptation we will see her struggle with the choice a bit more. It's a bit harder for her to leave the Two Rivers than it is, say, in the books."

Along the same lines, Stradowski confirmed there was a sense of immense pressure in performing for a fan base like The Wheel of Time. He said: "It helps in a way, and you feel supported, but you know, if you feel too much pressure then it might intimidate you and kill your creativity. For me, it was a matter of trying to stay away from that pressure and just really trying to find the essence of what Rand is for me."

Stradowski also admitted that he has not been in a rush to read all 14 books and see how his character Rand al'Thor changes over the years. Instead, he is committed to an authentic portrayal in these early stages. He said: "I guess it's trying to find the balance, you know? Because if you're far ahead in the books, you can always use bits and pieces that you find - just use it as inspiration, although it might be a little bit farther plot-wise. I think you can still use it, it's just a matter of finding that balance, and make sure that it works for you. Don't let it confuse you in any way."

Finally, Rutherford said that playing Perrin Aybara was especially interesting in terms of adapting words on the page to actions on screen. He said: "I know Perrin especially - he's got a lot of that inner monologue, you know? A lot of it is kind of what's going on his head. So, talk to [showrunner Rafe Judkins], 'how will we translate that onto the show?'"

Rutherford gave a few nods to the solutions the writers came up with (which we can't print here just yet), then continued: "You can still be subtle with it, just, you know, looks and body language and things like that. I think for a character like Perrin where a lot of it is quite introspective, and where Robert Jordan might write for two chapters about what's going on in his head, if you're ver clever about just how he looks at things or when he says something or what he doesn't say something, you can kind of translate it onto screen in a quite cool, innovative way."

The Wheel of Time premieres on Friday, Nov. 19, on Amazon Prime Video. The original novels are available now in print, digital and audiobook formats wherever books are sold.