New WHEEL OF TIME Animated Series, Movies, and Video Game Coming From ARCANE and LEAGUE OF LEGENDS Producer
The world of The Wheel of Time is far from done spinning. Even after the live-action series wrapped up its run, the iconic fantasy universe created by Robert Jordan is gearing up for a major comeback across multiple formats.
A new wave of animated projects, feature films, and a video game are now in development, and they’re coming from some serious creative talent with experience building massive global franchises.
At the center of this push is Thomas Vu, a producer on the awesome Arcane series, and a longtime creative force behind League of Legends. He’s teaming up with Anthony Borquez and Initiate Entertainment, alongside iwot Studios leadership Rick Selvage and Larry Mondragon, to bring fresh life to the property in ways that go beyond what we’ve seen before.
This new partnership is setting up an ambitious slate that includes an animated TV series, animated feature films, and a new PC and mobile video game. The goal here is to reach new audiences while giving longtime fans more ways to explore the world they love.
The upcoming video game is being designed to expand the franchise across platforms and connect with players worldwide. At the same time, the animated projects are aimed at younger audiences, helping grow the fanbase while staying rooted in the rich mythology that made the books so popular in the first place.
What makes this especially interesting is that these projects aren’t replacing anything already in development. iwot Studios confirmed that Vu’s slate is completely separate from other announced projects like the 3D animated film The White Tower and the live-action movie Age of Legends, which is being directed by Kari Skogland.
There’s also still an open-world AAA RPG in the works at iwot Games Montréal.
This latest move is part of iwot Studios’ larger transmedia strategy, which has been picking up momentum since the cancellation of the Amazon series last year.
Vu’s involvement is a big deal here. During his time at Riot Games, he helped shape League of Legends into a global powerhouse with over 100 million monthly players, branching into esports, music, and TV. He also served as an executive producer on Netflix’s Arcane, which earned a ton of praise for its storytelling and animation.
Now he’s bringing that same mindset to this fantasy world. He said:
“I see tremendous opportunity in expanding ‘The Wheel of Time’ into fully authentic, integrated, interactive, and animated storytelling experiences, The depth of the mythology provides a foundation for sustained, multi-platform franchise growth.”
Selvage seems just as confident in what Vu brings to the table, saying:
“Thomas has consistently demonstrated the ability to scale narrative worlds into global entertainment franchises. His background at the intersection of storytelling, technology, and franchise architecture makes him uniquely suited to help expand ‘The Wheel of Time’ in new immersive formats.
“We look forward to working closely with Thomas and Anthony as we bring the next chapter of ‘The Wheel of Time’ to audiences around the world.”
There’s also a proof-of-concept rendering of Rand al’Thor floating around from iwot Studios, teasing what this new animated direction could look like. While details are still pretty light on specific plots or release windows, the creative direction alone is enough to get fans curious.
This is very exciting and if the creative team delivers the same high level of quality as Arcane and League of Legends, this could be really cool!
Source: Variety
