Rosamund Pike is switching gears from the harsh realities of battle to a fantasy epic. The Oscar nominee, who most recently played war correspondent Marie Colvin in “A Private War,” will topline and produce Amazon’s adaptation of “The Wheel of Time.” Deadline confirmed the news.
Based on the book of the same name, the series is set in a world where “magic exists and only certain women are allowed to access it. It follows Moiraine (Pike), a member of the incredibly powerful all-female organization called the Aes Sedai, as she arrives in the small town of Two Rivers. There, she embarks on a dangerous, world-spanning journey with five young men and women, one of whom is prophesied to be the Dragon Reborn, who will either save or destroy humanity,” the source summarizes.
Uta Briesewitz, whose credits include “Stranger Things,” “Orange Is the New Black,” and “Jessica Jones,” is among “The Wheel of Time’s” exec producers and will direct the first two episodes of the series.
Pike is already set to star in another TV series based on a novel. She’s joining forces with prolific TV director Lesli Linka Glatter (“Homeland”) and writer-producer Meredith Stiehm (“The Bridge”) for a small screen adaptation of Cristina Alger’s “The Banker’s Wife,” the story of two women trying to find out the truth behind a mysterious plane crash.
In 2015 Pike earned an Oscar nod for her performance in “Gone Girl,” an adaptation of Gillian Flynn’s best-selling thriller of the same name. “A United Kingdom,” “Die Another Day,” and “An Education” are among her other credits.