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The Wheel of Time is returning to Prime Video with a third run, continuing the story Rand al’Thor and the rest of the ensemble by adapting the events of Robert Jordan’s fourth book, The Shadow Rising. Here’s everything you need to know about season 3.
Adapting any book series is a juggernaut of a task, but few franchises in history could rival The Wheel of Time in that regard due to its sheer scale. We’re talking, after all, about a story that took two decades, 15 books, more than 4 million words, and 2 authors to finish. Now, after years of trials and errors, and licensing rights being passed back and forth between different entertainment moguls, Amazon Studios is bringing the timeless fantasy world to life through a live-action adaptation.
Prime Video’s Wheel of Time originally premiered in 2021 to mostly positive reviews from critics and fans. Two years later, in September 2023, a second season aired on the streaming platform. Now, the cast and crew are back to tell the rest of the story. This is all you need to know about The Wheel of Time season 3, its release date and air time, the plot and the cast, and more.
When will The Wheel of Time season 3 release on Prime Video?
The third season of The Wheel of Time will air on March 13. Just like the previous runs, Amazon is releasing the first three episodes on March 13. From there, the rest of the five episodes will become available for streaming on the platform every week on Thursdays. Here’s a list of the episodes and episode titles with their premiere dates:
- “To Race the Shadow” — March 13
- “A Question of Crimson” — March 13
- “Seeds of Shadow” — March 13
- “The Road to the Spear” — March 20
- “Tel’aran’rhiod” — March 27
- TBA — April 3
- TBA — April 10
- TBA — April 17
As for the premiere time, The Wheel of Time season 3 is expected to drop on Prime Video at midnight, Pacific Time. That translates to 3 am ET, 9 am CET, and 8 am GMT.
Who is cast in The Wheel of Time season 3?
Rosamund Pike and Daniel Henny are returning as Moiraine Damodred and Lan Mandragoran, respectively. The other series regulars, including Josha Stradowski (Rand al’Thor), Marcus Rutherford (Perrin Aybara), and Dónal Finn (Matrim Cauthon) are also back, along with Madeleine Madden as Egwene al’Vere, Zoë Robins as Nynaeve al’Meara, and Ceara Coveney as Elayne Trakand.
The series is introducing a ton of new faces from the books, including Olivia Williams as Morgase Trakand (The queen of Andor and Elayne’s mom), Shohreh Aghdashloo as Elaida (an Aes Sedai of the Red Ajah), Nuno Lopes as the enigmatic Lord Gaebril, Luke Fetherston as Gawyn Trakand (Elayne’s brother) and Callum Kerr as Galad Damodred (Gawyn and Elayne’s half-brother.)
The plot of The Wheel of Time season 3
The story will adapt the events of The Shadow Rising, which is the fourth book in the series, and arguably the most acclaimed. Rand al’Thor will continue to fulfill the prophecies of the Dragon, while his friends Perrin Aybara and Mat Cauthon go on adventures of their own. The story will visit the Aiel Waste, home to the warrior-race who call themselves the People of the Dragon.
According to the official trailer, there’ll be upheaval in the White Tower of Tar Valon, with Aes Sedai of different Ajah vying for power and challenging Siuan Sanche’s rule as the Amyrlin Seat. As for the Shadow, we know that the Forsaken are now loose in the world and wreaking havoc across the continent, so it’ll only be a matter of time before our characters run into them.
What to expect from The Wheel of Time season 3
The first two seasons of The Wheel of Time received mixed reactions from fans. While many admired the team’s tenacity in bringing one of the most expansive and ambitious fantasy worlds to life, others were critical of the many deviations from the source material. The Wheel of Time series is essentially skipping the third book in the series and only incorporating parts of its plot into the larger narrative. Since the series is expected to run for 7 seasons, it’s safe to say that other beats across the story will also be condensed into smaller arcs.
The good news is that The Wheel of Time is undergoing a noticeable overhaul at Amazon Studios. The series is changing its aspect ratio from the conventional TV widescreen to a more cinematic 2.39:1 screen format, similar to many other high-budget Amazon shows like The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. The CGI is also more refined based on the footage already released, so we can’t wait to see how these technical improvements will affect our viewing experience in this third outing.