Audiences awaiting more of Amazon’s complaints about The Wheel of Time can’t hold a candle to the vitriol aimed at its predecessor.
Red Eagle Entertainment released a shoddy pilot in 2015 called Winter Dragon to retain their film rights to The Wheel of Time. The pilot aired during an infomercial timeslot in the middle of the night with no promotion, surprising fans of the books who happened to catch it or see its description on TV Guide. Winter Dragon depicted the prologue of The Eye of The World, which features the last moments of Lews Therin Telamon during the end of the War of Power in the Age of Legends, also called the Breaking of the World. The question of who Lews Therin, called Dragon, is Reborn as forms a core mystery of The Wheel of Time season 1. Following the release of Winter Dragon, the Wheel of Time fandom was upset and Red Eagle was tied up in litigation with Harriet McDougal, Robert Jordan’s widow and former editor. As such, this short Wheel of Time movie is widely considered an epic failure.
Why Wheel Of Time's Winter Dragon Was So Bad
Despite having Billy Zane in the role of Ishamael, Winter Dragon was widely criticized as a hastily thrown-together attempt to retain film rights to The Wheel of Time. Though listed as a "TV Movie" on IMDB, the obviously low-budget film’s runtime is a mere 22 minutes. Even Red Eagle seemed to have little faith in its ability to garner a favorable reception, as they chose to air it one time only and made no effort to promote the film in advance of its release. The pilot does not include any reference to the main timeline of the series or the main characters central to Amazon’s The Wheel of Time. After its release, Harriet McDougal claimed that Winter Dragon was made without her consultation, triggering a slander lawsuit against her from Red Eagle that was eventually settled in April 2016. All this explains why The Wheel of Time movie has such a poor reputation.
Why Winter Dragon was a Success (Even Though Fans Hated It)
Despite its disreputable status, Winter Dragon was actually a success for Red Eagle Entertainment in that it accomplished exactly what the company needed it to. Red Eagle purchased the rights to the Wheel of Time books in 2004, but the rights were set to expire on February 11, 2015 if Red Eagle did not get a work into production using the rights. They aired the pilot on February 8, days before the rights would have reverted to the Bandersnatch Group, Harriet McDougal’s company.
Red Eagle’s shady pilot enabled them to hang on to the rights long enough to see The Wheel of Time become one of Amazon’s best original television shows. Red Eagle was likely desperate to keep the rights as discussions with Sony Television to produce a big-budget show had been in the works in 2014, following a decade of inaction that drew the public irritation of Robert Jordan. Following the resolution of legal discussions between Robert Jordan’s estate and Red Eagle, the estate confirmed that a major studio was adapting the series for television. Amazon Studios, in conjunction with Red Eagle and Sony, went on to produce The Wheel of Time series, proving that – despite appearances – The Wheel of Time movie was a success, of sorts.
How Red Eagle Entertainment Might Still Make A WoT Movie
Red Eagle sold the rights to the book series storyline to Amazon to make The Wheel of Time, but they still have the rights to untold stories in the Wheel of Time universe and timeline, including the Age of Legends and the Breaking, when male channelers first lost their minds. Unsurprisingly, they currently have a prequel film trilogy in development, with a writer (Zack Stentz of Thor and X-Men: First Class) attached. No studio is yet involved with the project, including Sony and Amazon. Based on their actions in the past, it’s likely that Red Eagle is getting the films ready in hopes Amazon will pick them up if The Wheel of Time and fantasy prequel shows like House of the Dragon and Rings of Power do well.
Prequel fantasy stories and cinematic universes are quite popular right now, as the existence of House of the Dragon and 10 more planned Game of Thrones projects demonstrates. Red Eagle has shown they want to make the most of their Wheel of Time rights even if they must be underhanded to do it. The history with Winter Dragon is probably why the team behind The Wheel of Time series appear to be distancing themselves from Red Eagle’s prequel movie project. Amazon will likely watch the reception of House of Dragons, Rings of Power, and The Wheel of Time to see if an Age of Legends show or film is worthwhile. If they decide the audience is not there and choose not to pick it up, the Age of Legends trilogy could stall in development hell or end up a repeat of the awful Wheel of Time movie, Winter Dragon.