Giovana Gelhoren is a High-Trending Topics Writer at Collider, covering the most-talked-about stars, movies, and TV shows. Before joining Collider, she was a Digital News Writer at People Magazine and served as Associate Editor at SheKnows, where she honed her expertise in celebrity coverage and entertainment journalism.
A proud Latina from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Giovana graduated from Northwestern University with a degree in Journalism and International Studies. She has interviewed countless celebrities, including Anne Hathaway, Halle Berry, Pamela Anderson, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Brenda Song, and is known for her encyclopedic knowledge of film, TV, and pop culture.
Over a year ago now, the TV fantasy world was rocked when Prime Video's ambitious sci-fi series The Wheel of Time was canceled after Season 3. The decision, which was said to be merely financial per reports from Deadline, took fans by surprise, not only because of Robert Jordan's massive 14-book series that had much more original source material to offer, but because the series had finally found its groove. After a troubling first season, The Wheel of Time only improved season after season, culminating in being one of the best fantasy shows on TV in Season 3 with a 97% critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
But while the series' considerable improvements weren't enough to save it, the cancelation has provided the IP a chance to reassess and redo. And, as of March of this year, Jordan's novels are heading in a completely different direction. Per Variety, iwot Studios, which owns the rights to Jordan's beloved fantasy novels, is now partnering with Arcane producer and Riot Games’ “League of Legends” vet Thomas Vu as well as Anthony Borquez’s media company, Initiate Entertainment, in a slew of new projects, including a new video game, animated feature films and a new animated television series.
While viewers of The Wheel of Time were saddened by the series' cancelation, the new batch of projects could give Jordan's stories a breath of fresh air, and even be a better match for his expansive world-building and fantasy arcs. After all, while Prime Video spared no expense in making its live-action series, an animated TV series, animated films, and a video game give The Wheel of Time a better shot at matching the scale and mythology of Jordan’s world. Many even called it when the live-action series was announced, claiming that while the project was exciting and ambitious, live-action meant it would be a long, expensive project, especially given the COVID-19 delays that affected Season 1. Animated series, movies and games, on the other hand, lend themselves to sticking closer to the source material while, most times, costing a fraction of the price.
In the announcement, that's precisely what Vu reiterated: the opportunity to expand the universe more than ever before. "I see tremendous opportunity in expanding The Wheel of Time into fully authentic, integrated, interactive, and animated storytelling experiences,” Vu said in a statement to Variety. “The depth of the mythology provides a foundation for sustained, multi-platform franchise growth.” iwot Studios CEO Rick Selvage echoed those sentiments, saying, "Thomas has consistently demonstrated the ability to scale narrative worlds into global entertainment franchises. His background at the intersection of storytelling, technology, and franchise architecture makes him uniquely suited to help expand The Wheel of Time in new immersive formats."
Your answers point to the iconic sci-fi hero who shares your instincts, your values, and your particular way of facing the impossible.
You carry a weight most people would crumble under — the knowledge of what you're capable of, and the burden of what you might have to become.
You lead with instinct, warmth, and an absolute refusal to accept a no-win scenario — because you've always believed there's a third option nobody else has thought of yet.
You are the kind of person who holds the line when everyone else is losing faith — not because you're fearless, but because giving up simply isn't something you're capable of.
You are not reckless, not grandiose, and not particularly interested in being anyone's hero — you just refuse to stop when it matters.
You have been through fire that would break most people — and what came out the other side is something the world underestimates at its peril.
Plus, by venturing out into an animated series and a video game, the new Wheel of Time reboot will cater to younger audiences more than the live-action series ever did. By doing so, the projects set the franchise up long-term, potentially turning the reboot into an all-out franchise-building sensation, rather than just a series replacement. After all, while iwot Studios made it clear that they weren't done with Jordan's stories after the Prime Video cancellation last year, the new projects cater to a better audience, all while allowing them to expand and align themselves closer to the original source material.
Fans still aren't over Prime Video's sudden cancellation of the series.
With all that said, while Prime Video's cancelation of Wheel of Time last year disappointed fans, the IP is moving on to seemingly greater and better things as it shifts direction into an animated TV series, feature films and a video game. The reboot will surely be a change for fans of the live-action series, but evidence suggests that it could be the switch-up the series needed to find success and establish itself as the multi-format, fan-favorite franchise it's always hoped for.
