Followers haven’t given up on The Wheel of Time—the Robert Jordan epic fantasy adaptation that was simply abruptly cancelled by Amazon after three seasons—and neither has showrunner Rafe Judkins. Previous to what turned out to be the present’s remaining outing on Prime Video, Judkins spoke about his dedication to ending 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 may say one thing clear and tidy that explains to all of us who like it 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 essentially 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 enormous numbers of individuals everywhere in the world, showing within the Nielsen High 10 for practically 20 weeks, a feat only a few exhibits have been capable of match within the final decade.
Considered one of my core objectives 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 carried out greatest—get higher as they go. And as our actors and group got here on board, they too may see the potential if we had been allowed to complete this unimaginable story. We made many sacrifices, each private and inventive, alongside the way in which to get to that ending, so developing brief looks like a devastating blow for all of us.
A lot has been written about this bigger development in TV towards fewer seasons with much less episodes and discovering faster methods to accumulate extra streaming subscribers. However I genuinely imagine this goes towards the basic power of tv—long-form storytelling. It’s an artwork type, very like epic fantasy, which at its absolute best, offers individuals a spot to go and spend time with the characters that they love yr after yr. And I imagine there are executives, studios, and networks who know that. I imagine that we’ll discover our approach by this present iteration of the trade and again to what we do greatest—bringing nice characters into individuals’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 acquired a joyfully surprising resurrection after being cancelled.
“Will Wheel of Time get to try this with one other community and end the story? Sadly, it’s not one thing that occurs typically. However 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 e-book sequence and these followers should see the story completed.”
We’ll hold you posted if and when The Wheel of Time does certainly discover a new residence on a unique streamer. Contemplating the explanation given for the Wheel of Time being cancelled was monetary issues, it’d must 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?
Need extra io9 information? Try when to anticipate the most recent Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s subsequent for the DC Universe on movie and TV, and every thing you could learn about the way forward for Physician Who.
