Amazon’s adaptation of The Wheel of Time has found its al’Lan Mandragoran! The show’s official Twitter account popped up after a few quiet #WoTWednesdays to announce that actor Daniel Henney will take on the role of Moiraine Sedai’s faithful Warder, all-around bad-ass warrior and…(well that might be a spoiler.)
Take note, new fans, there will be spoilers for the Wheel of Time in the comments below!
"I swear to stand against the Shadow so long as iron is hard and stone abides – to defend the Malkieri while one drop of blood remains. I swear to avenge what cannot be defended." Welcome @danielhenney as al'Lan Mandragoran. #TwitterOfTime #WoTWednesday pic.twitter.com/Gg5h1ly5Zp
— The Wheel Of Time (@TheWheelOfTime) September 4, 2019
This rounds out much of the main cast, with the actors for Nynaeve, Egwene, Rand, Mat, and Perrin having been revealed in mid-August, and with Rosamund Pike playing Moiraine.
Production on the show is ostensibly about to begin, so we may see a slew of additional casting announcements in the weeks to come. There are many important roles yet to be cast, including the gleeman Thom Merrilin, mysterious Min, studious and anxious Loial, Elayne Trakand and her troublesome brothers Gawyn and Galad, Elayne’s queen mother Morgase, and a whole host of villains, including Ba’alzamon him/itself.
And now we have our Lan! I don’t know much about him; but I have faith the producers selected someone who can play a badass warrior, display a stoneface on the outside, while hiding all kinds of depth, passion and emotion underneath the surface.
Looking forward to this!
I KNEW it would come today! Sonofthunder can vouch my words!
Not familiar with Daniel Henney, but I like the way he looks. Not referring just to physical appearance as in, good looks, but he somehow makes me confident he can pull of an awesome Lan.
Tai’shar Malkier!
Edited: There was a suspicious comma that had sneaked in at a very wrong place and escaped my initial notice. Maybe it was some kind of a Grey Man apprentice or something …
I 100% see this :) In my head I had kind of pictured Jiang Wen in the role (the actor who plays Baze Malbus in Rogue One) but this guy definitely fits what was in my head.
Seems a little younger than I would expect for Lan.
@@.-@, they can fix that with makeup, easily.
He’s 39, versus Zoe Robins who’s 26, so there’s definitely more than a couple years difference.
Yup, I can vouch for you, Celebrinnen. ;) She reminded me yesterday that we would probably get some good casting news today! And lo and behold – we have a Lan!
My initial reservations are that he’s too young and too pretty and that he won’t tower enough over Moiraine (only 5″ separation!) but that’s more Rosamund Pike’s fault, I suppose haha!
But who am I kidding, he still looks fantastic and I can’t wait to see what he brings to the role. =)
Love it! He played Agent Zero on XMen Origins: Wolverine, and other things so he can definitely pull off the stoic badass.
John @@.-@. I agree, I pictured Lan too be more weathered. I guess since the actor’s picture is a professional head shot, the photographer wanted to convey photogenic personality. Given what Lan has been through in his life (and the training and fighting he has endured), I expect him to appear older than he really is. As long as the actor can portray a character who can be stoic, yet fierce and intimidating, then it does not matter if the actor looks younger than I imagined.
Thanks for reading my musings.
AndrewHB
If it’s on Amazon, does that means it’ll release all at once so we can binge the entire season?
excellent, I liked him in x-men![.](//s04.flagcounter.com/mini/Jkzv/bg_FFFFFF/txt_DEDEDE/border_FFFFFF/flags_0/.jpg" width="1"/>)
Can we get Sean Bean as Tam al’Thor now?
The real question, is Leigh and/or Sylas going to do a watch thread? (I suppose spoliers might be a tricky thing for Sylas depending on how far it outpaces the books, heh).
He seems pretty cool, though I did imagine Lan to be older…like maybe even mid-50s. Is there any book source for his age? What happened to Malkier sounded like it happened decades ago (more than 3). I’m very open to being corrected. Could have been a line I missed or misremembered. Also, it sounds like many people were expecting an asian actor for Lan. Was that also based on book material? If so, I must’ve missed that as well.
Jason @@@@@ 13 – Nah, they got Sean Bean locked down for Ingtar.
@16, nah, they need to do a fake out and have him live. ;)
Agree with @@.-@ and @10…he does appear to young but if he’s 39 (thanks at@6) then I think he can pull it off.
He may be good but when I imagined lan reading the series I always imagined him resembling Conan from the movies
@@.-@
Keep in mind that the crew has to plan for the future, too. If this series goes 8 seasons, that’s 8-10 years of real time. The actors need to be young enough to pull off aging during that time frame without getting /too/ old to be believable. Assuming an 8 year schedule, the end of the series would put him at 47or 48, which is much closer to Lan’s 50-ish age.
@Matt
I think the assumtion of an Asian actor came from the borderlanders being portrayed in very Asian terms; Saldaeans are Mongolian-esque, if I remember the BBoBA correctly, and the heavy plate armor and top knots that Shienarans sport is easy to visualize as Japanese, as well as their love for haikus and a warrior-centric culture.
Good choice!
A quick Googleing (thanks, TarValon.net!) says that Lan was born in 953 NE, which makes him 45 years old by the time tEotW begins (998 NE). So Daniel’s 39 is not so far from it and if the series goes on for 8-10 years, as Ellie @20 pointed out, then he will be about just as old as in the books by the end of the series.
Malkier fell in 955 NE. Lan was a baby when that happened. I think it’s the compendium that says he was born in 953 BE.
The series starts at the winter of 998 NE.
So he would be around 44 or 45 at the series start. The actor will be 40 around the shooting. I see no problem there.
He looks too scrawny to be Lan.
@24,
A swordsman like Lan wouldn’t be heavily muscled. Nor would someone used to living off the land. He’d be wiry and tough as beef jerky.
He’s great in Criminal Minds, I’m not sure he’s stoic enough for Lan, but I have high hopes.
I thought he looked familiar. A friend of mine from High School played his wife in Criminal Minds.
@26 – Good thing stoicism is something that can be acted ;)
If he can play strong, silent and doomed I’m happy. :-D
I told my spouse today that I really hoped Lan was attractive and Asian like Borderlanders cultures are described. Two hours later he showed me the announcement. A quick image search later and I was very, very happy. Now my spouse keeps showing me model pictures of him. LOL!
Amazon will definitely make him look the part with costume, hair and makeup. I’m very much enjoying how “easy on the eyes” this cast is. I’m sure we’ll get a great mix of looks in the end.
But can he sword fight? Is there any evidence?
@31 – Is there any evidence that the actor playing Rand can channel the One Power?
Too young! This guy is not even forty yet. Lan is probably in his fifties or sixties at the time of the story. Long-lived because he’s a Warder, yes, but still not young. I don’t know…I’m beginning to think the folks doing casting for this series have not yet seen the books.
I think the cast is too “pretty”. I guess we’ll have to hope they have good makeup artists.
The whole “borderlanders as Asian-esque cultures” thing makes some sense (certainly for Shienarans and to some extent for Saldaeans), but I had always pictured Kandori as viking-teutonic (maybe because of the beards). I never thought of Malkieri as Asians either, mainly because I have always imagined Lan as an Aragorn rippoff (and Aragorn as pictured in the Bakshi film: super-tanned, almost amerindian/latino), so my image of the Malkieri was built on that.
I initially thought he looked kinda too young for the part, but based on the comments I have read, I’m not concerned on that front anymore.
He’s been on Criminal Minds for the last couple of seasons, and I think was on the Criminal MInds series with Gary Sinise.
The most frustrating thing about the actors chosen so far, is they don’t typically fit the physical book description in height/weight. Rand is supposed to tower over most people. The actor chosen is 6’2″. Perrin is supposed to have a blacksmith body. The actor chosen weighs 84KG/185LBS. Nyneave is supposed to be short, the actress is 5’8″. Lan is supposed to be close to the same height as Rand, Daniel Henney is 6’2″. I know there are not unlimited about of people to choose from, but they could have done better. The game of thrones didn’t have any problem finding a mountain or the hound. I had the hardest time watching the Legend of the Seeker because they totally miscast the leading character Richard Cypher/Rahl. He was supposed to be tall and muscular and they had an actor who was 5’11” 160LBS.
Still waiting for Aviendha.
@@@@@ 34
First, Lan is 45 at the start of the series. He’s born in 953 NE, the series starts at 998 NE (Winternight). Those dates are given in the Compendium and at the glossaries.
Second, warder bonding doesn’t change how warder age, only gives them more vitality.
https://www.theoryland.com/intvsresults.php?kwt=%27warder%20bond%27
QUESTION
Do Warders have a regular lifespan?
ROBERT JORDAN
Yes they do. They hang on to what you would call ‘vitality’ longer than the average man, but they live a normal lifespan. They do get things out of the bond, but not a longer life.
INTERVIEW: Dec 19th, 2005
Robert Jordan’s Blog: THIS AND THAT (Verbatim)
ROBERT JORDAN
For David, Warders don’t slow. They age at a natural pace, but they do maintain vitality and vigor beyond the levels associated with most ordinary men. That said, I recently saw a photograph of a man in his seventies who had an absolutely ripped six-pack. In fact, from the neck down, if you were told you were looking at somebody in his 20s or 30s, you’d just think he was in incredible shape. And he wasn’t bonded to anyone. Also, Aes Sedai can release a Warder from the bond. In fact, I have said that most Aes Sedai who have time to realize that they are dying will release any Warders they have in order to spare them the effects. I’m pretty certain I have said that publicly, by the way.
But Lan is supposed to have piercing blue eyes and grey in his hair. Guess that can be fixed in make-up. Rand is supposed to have greyish eyes & reddish hair too.
I just hope they start filming soon. I’m re-reading, and into book three. Verin is such a key piece; she’s one that could land a “name” because age and appearance are less important. I’d love Jennifer Garner for Elaida.
I thought Lan was supposed to be more ‘gritty’–read ugly, so that’s what I was expecting, but otherwise I like the choice.
Could the show do without Faile altogether?
Wow this casting is absolutely terrible (from Lan to the rest in the previous article). Seems like the showrunners have never even read the books. I’ve already completely lost interest.