The ‘Wheel of Time’ Showrunner Nonetheless Hopes Its Story Continues Elsewhere

Fans haven’t given up on The Wheel of Time—the Robert Jordan epic fantasy adaptation that was just abruptly cancelled by Amazon after three seasons—and neither has showrunner Rafe Judkins. Previous to what turned out to be the show’s final outing on Prime Video, Judkins spoke about his commitment to finishing The Wheel of Time‘s story, and he’s renewing that vow in a brand new social media submit.

Judkins took to Instagram to share his response to the cancellation (he feels followers’ ache, that a lot is obvious), reward his collaborators, and weigh in on the present state of the TV trade. Right here’s the total assertion:

“I’ve been requested the identical questions many occasions the final week—why was The Wheel of Time cancelled? And the reality is, I don’t know. I want I might say one thing clear and tidy that explains to all of us who find it irresistible why it’s coming to an finish, however sadly, I can’t.

What I can say is that the actors and crew on our present are probably the most proficient and great group of individuals I’ve ever had the pleasure to work with. And we’ve all been extremely fortunate to make one thing that not solely was beloved by followers (and even critics! ha!), however was additionally watched by big numbers of individuals all around the world, showing within the Nielsen High 10 for almost 20 weeks, a feat only a few reveals have been in a position to match within the final decade.

One among my core targets in making this present, even from the earliest crafting of the pitch, has been to inform the entire story. As a result of the Wheel of Time books do what tv has all the time accomplished finest—get higher as they go. And as our actors and group got here on board, they too might see the potential if we had been allowed to complete this unbelievable story. We made many sacrifices, each private and artistic, alongside the way in which to get to that ending, so developing quick appears like a devastating blow for all of us.

A lot has been written about this bigger pattern in TV towards fewer seasons with much less episodes and discovering faster methods to accumulate further streaming subscribers. However I genuinely imagine this goes towards the elemental power of tv—long-form storytelling. It’s an artwork type, very similar to epic fantasy, which at its absolute best, provides folks a spot to go and spend time with the characters that they love 12 months after 12 months. And I imagine there are executives, studios, and networks who know that. I imagine that we are going to discover our approach by way of this present iteration of the trade and again to what we do finest—bringing nice characters into folks’s dwelling rooms and lives each week.”

Lastly, Judkins provided some hope for Wheel of Time‘s future, referencing one other fan-favorite sequence that obtained a joyfully surprising resurrection after being cancelled.

“Will Wheel of Time get to do this with one other community and end the story? Sadly, it’s not one thing that occurs typically. Nevertheless it does occur. Actually, one of many causes we first selected Amazon as a house for the present was as a result of they had been within the midst of selecting up The Expanse after SYFY cancelled it. So, who is aware of, maybe the Wheel of Time present will do what the books have all the time managed to do since day one—defy the normal definitions of ‘beginnings’ and ‘ends’. I actually hope it does—as a result of this guide sequence and these followers should see the story completed.”

We’ll preserve you posted if and when The Wheel of Time does certainly discover a new residence on a special streamer. Contemplating the rationale given for the Wheel of Time being cancelled was monetary considerations, it’d need to be a deep-pocketed outlet. Possibly Netflix will pull a Lucifer-style rescue and add one other fantasy title to its library, particularly now that The Sandman is ending quickly?

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