Editor's note: these interviews took place prior to the Hollywood actors strike, which began on July 14.
The Wheel of Time season 3 has a long way to go before it'll be ready to air on Prime Video, according to the series' cast.
Speaking exclusively to TechRadar at The Wheel of Time season 2's junket in late June, Josha Stradowski and Daniel Henney revealed there were plenty more left to shoot of the high fantasy show's next installment.
In October 2022, Amazon Studios announced it would make a third season of its hit TV series, even though season 2 wouldn't debut on its primary streaming service for another 11 months. Clearly, Amazon retains confidence in The Wheel of Time, even though it's been somewhat overshadowed in the fantasy stakes by The Rings of Power, Prime Video's Lord of the Rings prequel series.
Unfortunately, the chances of The Wheel of Time season 3 arriving on one of the world's best streaming services in the near future are effectively zero. Filming only got underway in April 2023 (per WoTseries.com) and, thanks to the ongoing actors strike, production was halted on the show's next installment in mid-July.
Before that industrial action began, though, I had the opportunity to ask Stradowski and Henney, who play Rand al'Thor and al'Lan Mandragoran on the show, how much of season 3 was in the can. Understandably, the pair were hesitant to reveal too much, but did provide some clues as to how much work had been completed.
"I was on set yesterday (June 26)," Stradowski told me on June 27. "With everything [the 2023 writers strike, which has been resolved] going on, I'm very thankful that I'm in a position where I can be creative. But yeah, season 3, we're still shooting it. We've drawn in the lines with seasons 1 and 2, and now I feel like we can really explore this world, throw some color around, and turn it into something great."
"Filming has begun," Henney added on the same date. "We had the scripts done [before the writers strike], so we were one of the lucky shows that had them locked. As of right now, we're still shooting and we were able to get a good chunk of it done. But we'll have to see what happens down the road."
Don’t miss the epic season finale of #TheWheelOfTime this week, only on Prime Video. pic.twitter.com/HLKtU1L8AiOctober 2, 2023
It's hard to say when principal photography will start again on The Wheel of Time season 3. At the time of writing, the Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) and Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) are locked in talks to try and find a resolution to the strikes. Per Deadline, those discussions were going as of Monday, October 2, with a fresh round of talks set for October 4. Once a new deal is agreed by all parties, SAG-AFTRA members, including The Wheel of Time's cast, can get back to work.
Equally, it's difficult to determine how much time is needed to shoot the rest of season 3. Thanks to the covid-19 pandemic, the show's first season took 18 months to shoot. Meanwhile, season 2's untroubled production meant filming was completed in just seven months. If Wotseries.com's aforementioned report can be believed, season 3 has spent six months in full production, although almost three of those have been spent in limbo due to the writers and actors strikes.
In short: don't expect The Wheel of Time season 3 to be with us until late 2024 at the very earliest. But, with The Rings of Power season 2 likely due out next year, we may not see Stradowski, Henney, and company back on our screens in one of the best Prime Video shows until 2025.
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