Daniel Henney, who plays the Warder Lan Mandragoran on Prime Video’s The Wheel of Time, offered a taste of what lies ahead for the sword-wielding protector and his Aes Sedai in Season 2 of the epic fantasy series.
“Lan and Moiraine will be tested. Individually and as a Warder/Aes Sedai unit. They’ll face challenges that have huge implications,” Henney said in an interview with ContentMode. “I consider Season 2 a ‘journey season’ for Lan. He will be faced with many moments and situations that force him to question everything he’s believed in and how he’s lived his life up to this point. It’s really hard for me to not give too much away, but I will say this: 2 swords, multiple Fades, blood….lots of blood.”
Fades, or Myddraal, are horrifying creatures that first appeared in author Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time novels on which the Prime Video series is based. Showrunner Rafe Judkins described the so-called Shadowspawn as “unbelievably horrifying,” saying, “I think we’ve done our job with them.” With pale smooth skin over where their eyes should be, the Eyeless were featured in some of the trailers and key art for the series before making several chilling appearances in Season 1.
Henney also spoke about how his own diverse background — the actor is of Korean, British and Irish descent — ended up being a perfect fit for the character of Lan. “I think that the fans really felt that the Borderlands must have had Asian influences,” he said. “I think they think of Shienar and Malkier and it makes sense that a mixed Asian man like myself would hail from those regions. There’s also a calm and almost samurai-like energy within Lan that clearly reflects the cultures of Korea and Japan.”
Other actors on the show have also discussed putting their own spin on their respective characters. Alexandre Willaume, who plays the gleeman Thom Merrilin, explained his process for a performance of the song “The Man Who Can’t Forget” in a recent interview. “I chose to do it in that kind of Tom Waits kind of way,” he said. “But that was also me…taking it away from maybe the expectation of what he was, trying to do something else. And maybe another song you can do a totally different thing.”
Despite some changes to characters and liberties taken with the timeline of the novels, The Wheel of Time has been a hit with audiences, topping Nielsen’s rankings for original streaming TV series during its premiere week in December 2021. The second season is currently in production and does not yet have a release date. Season 1 of The Wheel of Time is streaming now on Prime Video.
Source: ContentMode
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