Casting

[Seryse ni Cousland]

MOIRAINE SEDAI HAS BEEN CAST!

Personally, I was extremely skeptical about this TV show until I saw that they chose Rosamund Pike. Now I'm all in. I'm doing a reread and everything.

 

[Eliza Al'Shaw]

:joy
It's so exciting

 

[Lenore Carvoe]

I had to look her up - she's too tall and too blond for Moiraine, though the hair colour shouldn't be a problem.

 

[Dnae Ila]

I don't really care if she's too tall as long as she can nail the character.

 

[Toral Delvar]

I'll be happy to see the "National characteristics" go as other than groups that have been isolated (Aiel, Sea Folk, Two Rivers) with minimal movement and interbreeding, they don't really make sense. People living in the country of Cairhien happen to be short. What about when it wasn't Cairhien? Were the people of both Shandelle and Tova short? Was their an enclave of Almoren where short people congregated? or did short people just move to Cairhein over the previous 1000 years? Similar for Arad Doman, though even more countries (or parts of them) became Arad Doman

 

[Axis m'Troutilas]

I've only seen Rosamund Pike in Jack Reacher.

But I like her, I can see her being Moiraine.

Good start to casting.

 

[Shaerlyn Storna]

Agreed—saw her in some costume drama (becoming jane?) and she has exactly the right indefinable something to be Moiraine. Gives me confidence in the casting directors.

 

[Alenya Al'Roran]

Shaerlyn, she was in Pride and Prejudice with Keira Knightley. She played Jane in that one.

We also got a notification on Twitter today to watch for another big announcement next Wednesday.

 

[Shaerlyn Storna]

Ahhhh yes. I knew she played the steady elder sister, couldn’t recall if it was the one about Jane Austen or one of the P&Ps. Gracias.
Curious who’s next...

 

[Axis m'Troutilas]

Word on the street is it's a Lan casting reveal

 

[Dar'Jen Ab Owain]

Being hopefully optimistic. Lan is a favorite character of mine.

 

[Kranerian Vrammar]

Supposedly they're starting to film next month, so I'm hoping for a bit more than just one actor reveal. Presumably they're done or almost done casting by now so it's just a matter of what they feel they're ready to announce.

 

[Owena al'Saturni]

Now I'm getting excited

 

[Dnae Ila]

I think Lan will be the most controversial casting after Rand. Everyone seems to have very specific ideas for him.

 

[Thaddius al'Guy]

I just hope that they don't try to make it too edgy. I haven't really spoken with many about it (I'm the only WoT person I know in my personal life) but I've been chanting to myself for the last several months "Please don't suck"

 

[Dar'Jen Ab Owain]

"Please don't suck" is a shared sentiment. I want it to do well, but am fearful of what they are "trying for". I want a series that tries to present the heart of the series as closely as possible as to the way the series is. Some creative license necessary, certain things will need to be shortened or eliminated. But I hope it's not to promote some "agenda" rather than to tell a beautifully epic tale we all have come to love.

 

[Thaddius al'Guy]

But I hope it's not to promote some "agenda" rather than to tell a beautifully epic tale we all have come to love.

The only thing that I really don't want as far as "agenda" goes is for an actor/actress to come in and put their own spin on the character. They have defined personalities and they need to stick to that. Creative license can be taken with a lot of things on an adaptation from book to TV show/movie, but messing with a character's core personality should not be one of them.

 

[Shaerlyn Storna]

I think I get what you mean—Perrin wouldn’t really be Perrin if he’s written/played/edited to seem flighty or whimsical, and Nynaeve wouldn’t be Nynaeve if she’s calm and collected all the time, but it can be a fine line. The problem I see is that the book series is art, and as with any art we all have our own vision of what it means. Every artist/professional involved with the production will be putting their own spin on the show, which is both their job and inevitable. This is a different medium for telling the story, and will look different than anyone has imagined it while reading. I’m excited by that—I was a HUGE fan of the stage version of Phantom and the movie did an incredible job of using film to tell the story in a different way—but there were so many who felt that any change was a betrayal to the stage version. The same can be said of most book to stage or book to film adaptations, so I hope WoT fans give this a chance.

Sorry so wordy. #Brown

 

[Thaddius al'Guy]

I totally understand you on this too. As far as looks go, we have a definition of how each nationality vaguely looks. That's a lot to work with. I don't think I have any real hard images of any one character (except Bayle Domon, I can just see his crusty sailor visage) Appearances can be all over the place. I'm looking forward to see what else they put forward, but with Moraine's actress revealed, I'm happy with it so far.

Edit: There's also so many PoV characters. I don't think I'd mind if someone's nationality was changed as long as it did not impact the story. That's totally fine. Take the creative license. That's the trade-off with adaptations. People who want a 100% translation would be unhappy with the results.

 

[Dnae Ila]

Speaking of Bayle and different interpretations, I know most people read his accent as a typical pirate accent, and I know that's what it was probably meant to be, but I always read it in my head as soft Scottish and I know I'll be disappointed by his voice in the show because I'm the weird one on this.