wheel-of-time-eye-of-the-world-book-coverWhen the Lord of the Rings movies were released a few years ago I’d hoped that it would spawn a wave of adult-oriented fantasy movies. Sadly, most of the fantasy movies that came out since then (Harry Potter, The Spiderwick Chronicles, The Golden Compass, Eragon, The Chronicles of Narnia, etc.) were weak adaptations catering for younger viewers.

That trend might change, though. Universal Pictures acquired the rights to Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series last year in a seven-figure deal, and they plan to adapt the first book in the series, The Eye of the World, to a movie format soon. The Eye of the World movie will be produced in part by Rick Selvage and Larry Mondragon of Red Eagle Entertainment, the company that published graphic novel versions of the books.

Additionally, Red Eagle Entertainment is planning to release a line of stand-alone Wheel of Time games for all major videogame platforms, as well as a massively multiplayer online role-playing game encompassing the themes, characters and world of the Wheel of Time novels.

In The Eye of the World, the peaceful villagers of Emond’s Field pay little heed to rumors of war in the western lands until a savage attack by monstrous minions of the Dark One forces three young men to confront a destiny which has its origins in an ancient time known as The Breaking of the World.

Robert Jordan, the author of the books, passed away at the age of 58 due to amyloidosis before he could finish the last book in the series. The task (and Jordan’s copious notes) to finish the book was handed down to Brandon Sanderson who did an excellent job of keeping to Jordan’s method of storytelling. The final book ended up being divided into three books due to its length, the first of which was published in October 2009 at 800+ pages.

So far the movie is only in pre-production; There’s an IMDB profile for The Eye of the World, but it doesn’t have much information yet except for a possible 2011 release date.

lews-chosen-rand-forsaken

If the first Wheel of Time movies are as well-produced as Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, the series’ 15 books could easily become the greatest series of epic fantasy movies yet.

“The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and go, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again.”

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