Among the top tier fantasy authors is Robert Jordan, creator of The Wheel of Time series. If you thought Tolkien and Martin wrote epic fantasy series, Jordan is right up there with them. Jordan started writing his series in 1984 with plans to create six volumes. To everyone’s surprise, the story spanned eleven volumes before Jordan passed away in 2007. Fortunately for fans, he left instructions on how to finish the twelfth and final book in case of his death. Fantasy author Brandon Sanderson (The Stormlight Archive) took up the task, but quickly discovered that all the content would not fit into one book. Sanderson ended up writing three books instead of one to complete the series.

The story follows Moiraine, an Aes Sedai who can channel the One Power, and her companions as they journey to find and protect the Dragon Reborn. They must find a way to return the Dark One to his prison while multiple factions try to stop them. It’s full of magic and combat and all the things one hopes to see in a high fantasy adventure series.

While Game of Thrones, The Shannara Chronicles, The Magicians, and even Legend of the Seeker made waves on television; some fans have been left wondering when The Wheel of Time would gets its moment on the small screen. Jordan’s estate recently endured a legal struggle over the TV rights when FXX quietly aired a pilot titled “Winter’s Dragon” made by Red Eagle Entertainment last year without approval from the estate. When Jordan’s wife Harriet McDougal issued a statement of her disapproval, Red Eagle filed a lawsuit which they later withdrew.

Then just the other day, McDougal released the following official statement:

It looks like fans will finally be getting the screen adaptation they’ve been waiting for. The only problem is that we don’t know yet which studio will be behind the production, or on which network it will air. We’re all aware that the network can make a world of difference in content. Can you imagine how tame Game of Thrones would be if it were made for Shannara‘s MTV instead of HBO?

With very little information so far, we’re left with a ton of questions. Will the mystery studio be able to fund multiple seasons to cover the massive amount of content available? Will each season run one book each similar to Game of Thrones? Who will play the featured roles, and how true will the production stay to the books?

Either way, picking up the TV rights is fantastic because it means another great fantasy series will get more mainstream exposure. That will introduce new readers to both the series and the fantasy genre. Look how many people picked up A Song of Ice and Fire thanks to Game of Thrones. The more people we have reading, the better.

What do you think of this development? How do you think the books will adapt on screen? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Image credits: TOR Books