The Wheel Of Time Producers On New Locations & Evolved Tone Of Season 2

In the new season of The Wheel of Time, the heroes of the Two Rivers have scattered across the world after Rand went into hiding and Moiraine lost her connection to the One Power after facing the Dark One. With Moiraine powerless, they will need to find their own power to face enemies both old and new. While Rand seemed to win in his battle with the Dark One at the end of last season, that was only the beginning, and they will all need to come into their own power and likely reunite with the Last Battle still on the horizon.

The Wheel of Time is based on the series of novels of the same name, first written by Robert Jordan and then finished by Brandon Sanderson. Executive producer Rafe Judkins adapted the novels for television. The series stars Rosamund Pike, Daniel Henney, Zoë Robins, Madeleine Madden, Josha Stradowski, and Marcus Rutherford, with Dònal Finn replacing Barney Harris as Mat Cauthon.

Related: How The Wheel of Time Season 2 Was Adjusted Based On Fan Feedback & Other Fantasy TV Competition

Screen Rant spoke with series producers Holger Reibiger, Marigo Kehoe, and Mike Weber about The Wheel of Time season 2. They discussed the tone of the second season and teased new locations in the world. They also explained how the channelers’ powers look in the new season and how the stakes continue to rise. Note: This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, and the show covered here would not exist without the labor of the writers and actors in both unions.

Holger Reibiger, Marigo Kehoe & Mike Weber Talk Wheel Of Time Season 2

Screen Rant: Walk me through the sets so far. The first thing that comes to mind is the sheer ambition, scale and scope. It seems bigger in every way, even with the amount of characters. Can you talk about how season 2 compares to season 1 in that respect?

Marigo Kehoe: We had a huge number of sets on season 1 too, particularly White Tower sets. But just in terms of why, we are following individual stories this year. So they are all apart. They’re all having their own adventures. So we’ve had to work very hard to allow the characters to have their journey in their different places in the world.

So you start with Moiraine in Tifan’s Well, and that was shot in Italy. There’s a lot of stuff in the White Tower this year. So there’s a huge amount of sets here because Nynaeve and Egwene are there. And we go to Kerene and we go to farm. So there’s a huge scope of stuff this season in terms of story to be told. And a lot of new characters coming in as well as you said.

Yes. So speaking on that, we have our protagonists on their own journeys, some brand new locations. We have other new locations, new factions, some fan-favorite characters joining. How do you pick and choose and even order who and which storylines get screen time throughout the episodes?

Mike Weber: Well, that’s really a question for our showrunner-creator, Rafe Judkins, but I think the choices are made whatever’s organic to the story, whatever’s organic to this sort of key action that you’re following or the key character storyline that really is the most emotional, the most dramatic. And that really sort of drives that decision-making.

In season 1, the characters seem more mature than the books. In season 2, it feels even more mature and adult. Can you talk about that tone?

Marigo Kehoe: Through season 2, I think when you pick the characters up, they are growing as people and that’s what’s brilliant about the season. You get to see them individually. Shades of the balance issue, dark and light. And obviously, we have all the forsaken characters and obviously, there’s Seanchan who are big threat. So you see, the whole season is there, maturing them and finding out about themselves, who they are, where they fit in the world.

Seanchan are obviously a fan-favorite faction coming in, and there are other new antagonists, so the stakes are high. How do you maintain that tension of, “Oh, we have to keep raising the stakes or maintaining this throughout future stories too?”

Holger Reibiger: I mean, of course, the stakes are high and season 2 in general and new seasons. Well, following the books and the scripts, it comes naturally basically. And we want to show the audience something new and something fresh, even based on the books. So we travel to new places, so we have to show those places and we have to make it look big or we want to make it look big and interesting for the audience and to show them places they haven’t seen before.

And I mean of course we always want to keep the stakes high, so that’s a good task for us. But with our team and the team effort, I think we can make it work. And the cast team, we are all passionate about the project, so everyone is a huge fan of the series and so that makes it easier for us.

Marigo Kehoe: We all love doing it.

Holger Reibiger: Yeah.

I think everyone just the amount of detail in every conversation I’ve had, it’s just so impressive. Walking through the costumes was so impressive. One of the things I noticed watching the first episode is the visual effects around the channelers using the weave, it’s noticeably different, it seems more detailed, but also colored. Was that a very intentional change from season 1?

Mike Weber: Yeah, I think when you saw channeling in season 1, it was really that big finale with more rain, channeling the fireball at night. And now we’re getting a more intimate setting around channeling. You’re seeing that detail because these are moments of not necessarily just debris falling around and massive in the midst of battle, you’re seeing channeling in the way that is more described in the books and throughout the White Tower environment.

Marigo Kehoe: Yeah, we’ve worked on a lot with Scarlet, our movement coach. So each of the actors who are weaving, they have their own sense of what they’re doing. And our VFX supervisor, Andy Scrase, has worked very closely with the actors and with the movement coach to talk about who their characters are.

So Alanna is very sensual and Egwene is stressed to get it out. And Nynaeve is a burst of energy. And we’ve worked very hard on that and providing, we did improving it with the color so we have water, earth, air, all those things and particles in it. So it gives it more a sense of it’s there. So the water has particles in it, the fire when you see it as fire spots. So it’s beautiful what they’ve done. Beautiful.

That does seem like a more literal translation of some of the pages from the books. Can you talk about some of the most challenging things to adapt or introduce from the books, and maybe some things that are not a fit for live action right now?

Holger Reibiger: What was the most challenging? I mean to pull up all the locations and new places, it’s a big challenge. So we have to build new sets, massive sets, interior as well, exterior. So to combine the interior sets here in Prague with the locations either outside of Prague or in Czech Republic or most of them then in Italy or Morocco, that’s a big challenge and we want to make it as organic as possible. And so you don’t feel… So it’s seamless that you feel, well, they shot it in a real place.

Outside of adapting the books, what’s sort of the biggest challenges to execute during the season?

Mike Weber: Well, I think really achieving the look that we’ve achieved is something that is incredibly challenging to both manufacture, every single article of clothing, every prop, everything. And also to make it look lived in. So you have to make it new but then make it look old and make it look like it fits amongst the world. And that takes an incredible amount of time and energy from our incredibly talented staff in every department in that respect. And so the time it takes to do that and then how it integrates into the set. I mean, that is something that I think audiences really notice when you do it right or you do it wrong. And I think we’ve done it right,

Marigo Kehoe: Attention to detail.

Mike Weber: Yeah.

Holger Reibiger: Yeah. If you look at the Seanchan costume, I mean, the details on, it’s amazing. But you have to think about, these are soldiers, so they have to fight. So they have to move and it can’t be… It’s still heavy, it’s real leather, but still, it’s a real armor.

Marigo Kehoe: Everybody has to talk to everybody. Stunts talk to costume.

Everyone’s just saying that, yeah.

Mike Weber: And if they aren’t moving organically, then all of a sudden it doesn’t look right. So it’s all these little sort of details.

Marigo Kehoe: Some discussions about so many things, big meetings.

What are you most excited for audience to see once they’ve seen all of season 2?

Holger Reibiger: For me, it’s one location we shot in Morocco, which it’s a location nobody shot there before. It’s so remote in Morocco and we made the decision, yes, we have to go there because it’s so amazing and fits so well into the story. So I can’t wait for the audience to see this. That’s my favorite moment.

Marigo Kehoe: Mine is the last episode, which kind of doubles up a little bit, but it’s the last episode. It’s epic. I mean, the visual effects are absolutely stunning, and sound design, music, the performances, it’s just a great last episode.

Mike Weber: And for me, it’s the dramatic performances from this cast who the season gives them just this ability to just shine in a way that I think people are going to be incredibly impressed by.

Holger Reibiger: You can really connect to the characters throughout the season.

Marigo Kehoe: You get to know them as people.

About Wheel Of Time Season 2

In Season Two, threats new and very old seek out the young friends from the Two Rivers, now scattered over the world. The woman who found and guided them is now powerless to help, and so they must find other sources of strength. In each other, or themselves. In the Light … or the Dark.

Check out our other Wheel of Time season 2 interviews here:

The first four episodes of Wheel of Time season 2 are available on Prime Video now, with new episodes dropping every Friday.

Source: Screen Rant Plus