Apple Just Made This Canceled Prime Video Fantasy Remake’s 10-Season Dream a Lot Harder

Prime Video pulled the plug on The Wheel of Time after Season 3, which was both not shocking and still a bummer. The show took its lumps, started to steady the ship, and then... curtains. The upside: a redo is coming. An animated take is on the way from iwot Studios with Arcane producer Thomas Vu involved. If this thing clicks, you could easily see it running 10+ seasons. The catch? Getting Brandon Sanderson in the mix when Apple already has him booked solid.

So yes, another Wheel of Time is happening — as animation

The new version is animated, which frankly might be the only format that can wrangle a doorstopper fantasy series without lighting money on fire. Animation sidesteps a lot of the time and budget headaches that dogged the live-action version, and it opens the door to stick closer to Robert Jordan's books — the number-one gripe about the Prime Video show.

We don’t know yet where the animated remake will land — no streamer or network is confirmed. What we do know: Robert Jordan passed in 2007, and Brandon Sanderson — the author who finished the series — is the obvious person to help steer a more faithful adaptation. The problem is, he may not have the hours to spare.

Sanderson is busy — with Apple

Apple is bringing parts of Sanderson's Cosmere to screen: Mistborn is set as a film, and The Stormlight Archive is getting a TV series. Sanderson has said he plans to be hands-on with both, and he’s even writing the Mistborn screenplay himself. On top of that, he’s drafting Mistborn Era 3 right now, with a pile of novels he wants to write after — including the back half of The Stormlight Archive.

Translation: his calendar is chaos. Getting him meaningfully involved with the Wheel of Time remake could be tough. And that’s a shame, because he’s a true fan, he’s done this exact kind of world-wrangling on the page, and he finished the final three Wheel of Time books after Jordan’s death — so he knows how the story lands.

He has thoughts about the last attempt

"Streaming has had a big problem with epic fantasy."

That was Sanderson to Polygon, and he didn’t just mean Wheel of Time. He also revealed he was barely looped in on the Prime Video version, despite a producer credit:

"I wasn't really involved. Don't know anything more than what is public. They told me they were renegotiating, and thought it would work out. Then I heard nothing for 2 months. Then learned this from the news like everyone else. I do think it's a shame, as while I had my problems with the show, it had a fanbase who deserved better than a cancelation after the best season. I won't miss being largely ignored; they wanted my name on it for legitimacy, but not to involve me in any meaningful way."

Why the new team should try to get him anyway

• He finished the series: Sanderson wrote the last three Wheel of Time novels after 2007, so he understands Jordan’s endgame and tone.
• He’s learning adaptation in real time: shaping Mistborn for film forces the exact choices (what to cut, what to keep) this show will face.
• Author involvement works: look at Disney ’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians, HBO ’s A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, and the early Game of Thrones seasons — tighter alignment with the books usually pays off.
• Fidelity was the big complaint last time: if the mandate is to be truer to the source, bringing in someone entwined with the original story is the straightforward move.

The scheduling magic trick

Is it realistic? Maybe. Sanderson is known for juggling a ridiculous number of projects, and production timelines sometimes line up in surprising ways. If the animated series can carve out a real role for him — not just a name in the credits — and his Apple projects leave a window, this redo has a shot at delivering the long-haul, faithful adaptation fans have wanted since day one.

For now, we’re waiting on two big pieces: where the animated show will stream, and whether Sanderson can actually jump in. If both break the right way, this could be the version that finally sticks — and sticks around for a decade.