- The Wheel of Time is coming back as an animated show
- Prime Video canceled its live-action adaptation in mid-2025
- Fans are already worried about the revival and the studio behind it
The Wheel of Time (TWoT) is officially returning as an animated TV show — and fans of Robert Jordan’s high fantasy book series don’t want that to happen for one big reason.
10 months after Prime Video canceled its live-action adaptation of The Wheel of TimeJordan’s works are to be given a new life in the form of a TV anime. per variety, TWoT rights holders iwot Studios will develop the show together with Initiate Entertainment. The latter company is co-owned by Thomas Vu, one of many producers who worked on it Excitingthe popular Netflix anime series based on Riot Games’ League of Legends video game franchise.
iwot Studios is no stranger to TWoT IP. In addition to owning the rights to the brand, iwot CEO Rick Selvage and chief content officer Larry Mondragon were producers on Amazon’s live-action reimagining of Jordan’s novels. iwot is also believed to be working on animated films and a role-playing game (RPG) that will continue to expand its universe beyond the site’s borders.
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“I see a huge opportunity in expanding The Wheel of Time for fully authentic, integrated, interactive and animated storytelling experiences,” Vu said in a statement. “The depth of mythology provides the foundation for sustained, multi-platform franchise growth.”
Why is The Wheel of Time’s fanbase angry about this news?
feel sorry for time wheel fans, imagine your show finally starts, then it gets canceled and now you get some slop animated series instead, dammitMarch 20, 2026
It is unclear whether The Wheel of Time‘s animated offering would pick up where its live-action rendition left off after it was axed after three seasons. There’s also no word on whether showrunner Rafe Judkins would return to help develop it, or if any of its primary cast could reprise their roles from the Prime Video show, albeit only in voice acting. There’s no telling which of the world’s top streaming services it will eventually be released on as well.
One thing we do know, however, is that many sections of TWoT‘s fanbase has reacted negatively to this news.
For one, TWoT diehards are still angry that their live-action show was canned in the first place. Indeed, in the weeks following its scrapping, fans campaigned hard to “find the show a new home” after The Wheel of Time‘s cancellation after three seasons. Unfortunately, their pleas fell on deaf ears.
As long as iwot is involved, expect crushing disappointment https://t.co/jP3cIzgi8Z19 March 2026
That is far from the only reason for it TWoT‘s fanbase doesn’t want to see it turned into an anime, though.
In February, iwot entered into an agreement with Visual Effects (VFX) studio Framestore to launch an artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled platform. Per Variety, it will “offer brand asset management tools to facilitate collaboration on projects across multiple platforms” and “enable studios to unify their production environments across film, television, video games, animation, advertising, immersive experiences, social platforms and user-generated content.”
The first IP to use this tool? Yes, you guessed it, The Wheel of Time.
okay, but can we just renew the existing show? https://t.co/0pjUSVXeEZ19 March 2026
With AI becoming an increasingly widespread – not to mention highly controversial – presence in the entertainment space, TWoT fans are worried and frustrated at the prospect of iwot’s animated show not only being realized using AI, but becoming the latest project to be considered ‘AI slop’.
Actually hardcore TWoT fans have taken to social media platforms, including X/Twitter and Reddit, to express their opposition to what they perceive as the “franchising and dulling” of the beloved franchise. Meanwhile, others just want its canceled live-action iteration to be renewed.
There are some who wouldn’t mind TWoT animation series under the guidance of one of Exciting‘s producers — as long as AI isn’t involved, anyway. In online circles, however, these fans are in the absolute minority. Time will tell if they were right to be positive about this production or not.
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