NYCC: The Wheel of Time unveils a sneak peak clip and announced new S2 cast members

The cast and creator of the highly anticipated Amazon series, The Wheel of Time, based on Robert Jordan’s best-selling fantasy novels, headlined a Friday virtual panel at New York Comic-Con, which included a season one clip and as well as more casting news.

“I think if people can just see it up on the screen and feel like at its heart it feels like the books, in that intangible way, then we will have done our job,” series creator and showrunner Rafe Judkins said during the panel, via Polygon.

Debuting on Amazon November 19, the Medieval-inspired Wheel of Time series spans an extensive world of magic, where women wield the mystical arts, encompassed by the powerful, all-female sect Aes Sedai. The Wheel of Time breaks the mold of fantasy—which has been dominated by male protagonists such as The Witcher’s Geralt of Rivia—by empowering the women and is headlined by Rosamund Pike (also executive producing the series), who participated in the NYCC panel discussion.

"“In a spiritual sense I thought it was the right time in my life to explore a power outside of myself. Channeling and tapping into something rather elemental,” Rosamund Pike said during the Wheel of Time panel, according to Deadline. “Being able to create a language to express that connection really interested me a lot, as well as taking on the responsibility of showing someone who wields great power – how they do it, how they use it, when they retrain using it.”"

In addition to Pike’s Moiraine, a member of the all-powerful Aes Sedai, she recruits five young men and women after arriving in the small town of Two Rivers, searching for the prophesied Dragon Reborn—likely to be one of the young apprentices —who is destined to either protect or terminate humanity. Wheel of Time series creator Rafe Judkins joined Rosamund Pike in the panel as well as cast members Zoe Robins(Nynaeve), Madeleine Madden (Egwene), Daniel Henney(al’Lan), and Josha Stradowski (Rand).

The Wheel of Time panel revealed a season one clip that shows Moiraine’s arrival at Two Rivers. In it, you can see Pike surveying the tavern for signs of the Dragon Reborn candidate among the inhabitants.

According to Polygon, Judkins described the clip as “Moiraine’s first arrival in the Two Rivers. It’s cool because it’s when we get to see all of the lovely people on this panel really interact together and be in the same room for the very first time in the series. So, it’s that moment that kind of activates everything in The Wheel of Time. It’s the moment that these kids who live in this mountain village, their life is never the same from the moment that walks into town. So, this is that moment.”

In addition to the exciting season one cast, Judkins also announced more casting news, including Ceara Coveney (The Amazing World of Emma) as fan-favorite Elayne Trakand, and Natasha O’Keeffe (Peaky Blinders), and Meera Syal (Broadchurch) as unidentified characters. All three will be Wheel of Time series regulars for the second season, already greenlit by Amazon.

You can catch the full Wheel of Time NYCC panel here.

The first three episodes of The Wheel of Time’s first season will drop on Amazon Prime on November 19, with weekly episodes following on Fridays after that, airing just in time for holiday viewing.