Mr. Chris sends along this article from Variety that indicates Universal has bought the film rights to Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time. NBC originally owned the rights to do a miniseries on the first novel, but this never materialized. Reportedly, Universal has paid seven figures for the film rights. Spending that kind of money seems to be an indicator that the project will eventually get the green light. (Note: NBC’s parent company is Universal.)
Like many fantasy readers, I have mixed emotions about the Wheel of Time series. The first several books are absolutely incredible–they hands down some of the best fantasy novels ever written. Jordan weaves together so many disparate elements of fantasy and history to create his world that the result is nothing less than stunning. However, his constant antagonistic characterization of the male/female relationships in the book wears after a while. This is a necessary evil from the way in which “magic” works in the world, but it does weaken the overall interaction of men and women.
That being said, The Eye of the World, which is the first book in the series, really ought to make a great movie. This is a great intellectual property; with the right director, the movies based on these books could rival Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings saga. The story is epic, the books themselves are full of action, and there’s a strong element of romance for several characters throughout the series (despite the aforementioned antagonism).
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Man, I would love to see this made into a movie, provided that it was done properly. Can you imagine the big wigs eyes getting all aglow thinking about the prospects of a 13-movie long series? Christ.
Of course, the cost of getting actors to play the thirty million starring roles in the book would probably outweigh the cost.
Much like BSG, it could be developed as a series instead of a movie. With such a format there would be a lot more room to develop the subplots and myriad characters. Also, if they use relatively unknown actors, they may be able to keep costs down.
Robert’s weak (weak, weak, weak) endings far out weigh the over emphasized antagonism between the sexes. Let’s hope a translation to film can play a little fast and loose with last chapters of each book. The story’s strongest draw was the appeal to my curiosity regarding how Jordan would resolve the dual nature of the Dragon’s prophecy. Herald of doom and savior of the world? How would he resolve that? After 8 failed climaxes I lost faith Jordan would provide a satisfactory answer.
I’d rather see the mini-series take a few notes from LotR instead of be a made for TV clone. I am also VERY eager to see the first moments of the film project. Who hasn’t longed to see the last few moments of Lewis to see how close it resembles their own big-budget imagination?
One of the strengths of the series is how well Rand is developed from innocent country boy to a messiah figure. I enjoy heroes that grow slowly, like Paul Atreides and Rand. Contrast that to the insta-prowess from heroes like Skywalker or Neo.