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

• 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 the 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 video game 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."

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

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 world's best streaming services it'll eventually be released on, too.

One thing we do know, however, is that many sections of TWoT's fanbase have 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 doesn'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.

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