'Expect crushing disappointment': The Wheel of Time fans express concern and outrage over animated revival that could be created using AI

Date:
Fri, 20 Mar 2026 10:30:00 +0000

Description:
The Wheel of Time is being turned into an animated show and fans say they can't imagine anything worse if AI is involved.

FULL STORY
The Wheel of Time is coming back as an animated show
Prime Video cancelled its live-action adaptation in mid-2025
Fans are already concerned about the revival and the studio behind it

The Wheel of Time ( TWoT ) is officially
coming back as an animated TV show and fans of Robert Jordan's high fantasy book series don't want it to happen for one big reason.

10 months after Prime Video canceled its live-action adaptation of The Wheel
of Time , Jordan's works are set to take on a new life in form of a TV anime. Per Variety , TWoT rights holders iwot Studios will develop the show
alongside Initiate Entertainment. The latter company is co-owned by Thomas
Vu, one of many producers who worked on Arcane , the hit Netflix anime series that's based on Riot Games' League of Legends videogame franchise. iwot
Studios is no stranger to the TWoT IP. As well as owning the rights to the brand, iwot CEO Rick Selvage and chief content officer Larry Mondragon were producers on Amazon 's live-action reimagining of Jordan's novels. iwot is
also believed to be working on animated films and a role-playing game (RPG) that'll continue to expand its universe beyond the confines of the page.

"I see tremendous opportunity in expanding The Wheel of Time into fully authentic, integrated, interactive, and animated storytelling experiences,"
Vu said in a statement. "The depth of the mythology provides a foundation for sustained, multi-platform franchise growth."

It's unclear if The Wheel of Time 's animated offering would continue
where its live-action interpretation left off following its axing after three seasons. There's also no word on whether showrunner Rafe Judkins would return to help develop it, nor whether any of its primary cast might reprise their roles from the Prime Video show, albeit in voice acting roles only. There's nothing to report on which of the streaming services it'll eventually be released on, too.

Why is The Wheel of Time's fanbase angry over this news?

One thing we do know, however, is that many sections of TWoT 's fanbase has reacted negatively to this news.

For one, TWoT diehards are still angry that its live-action show was canned
in the first place. Indeed, in the weeks following its scrapping, fans campaigned vigorously to "find the show a new home" following The Wheel of
Time 's cancellation after three seasons. Unfortunately, their pleas fell on deaf ears. That's far from the only reason that TWoT 's fanbase don't want to see it turned into an anime, though.

In February, iwot struck a deal with visual effects (VFX) studio Framestore
to launch an artificial intelligence (AI) enabled platform. Per Variety , it "will offer brands asset management tools to ease collaboration on projects across multiple platforms" and "enable studios to unify their production environments across film, television, video games, animation, advertising, immersive experiences, social platforms, and user-generated content."

The first IP that'll utilize this tool? Yep, you guessed it, The Wheel of
Time . With AI becoming an
increasingly prevalent not to mention highly controversial presence in the entertainment space, TWoT fans are worried and frustrated over the prospect that iwot's animated program will not only realized using AI, but become the latest project to be deemed 'AI slop'.

Indeed, hardcore TWoT fans have taken to social media platforms, including X/Twitter and Reddit , to express their opposition to what they perceive to
be the "franchisation and sloppification" of the beloved franchise.
Meanwhile, others simply want its cancelled live-action iteration to be renewed.

There are some who wouldn't mind a TWoT animated series under the guidance of one of Arcane 's producers as long as AI isn't involved, anyway . In online circles, though, these fans are firmly in the minority. Time will tell if
they were right to be positive about this production or not.

Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/streaming/expect-crushing-disappointment-the-wheel-o f-time-fans-express-concern-and-outrage-over-animated-revival-that-could-be-cr eated-using-ai

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