The Wheel of Time TV Show 3: Fan expectations are heavier than a mountain, success is lighter than a feather [BOOK SPOILERS]

[Corvinus85]

If you don't like the thread title, you can write your own adaptations politely suggest a different one.

Continue.

[A True Kaniggit]

16 minutes ago, Corvinus said:

If you don't like the thread title, you can write your own adaptations politely suggest a different one.

Continue.

Ohhh.. Cute little raccoon. I didn't mean that to be personal.

The thread is far past 400, and a new one hasn't been started.

I myself would've started one, but I haven't myself thought of one ≥ your current one.

Edit: . Much much embarrassment expressed after realizing that this is indeed a new thread and not a snarky response to my last post at the end of the previous thread.

[Corvinus85]

40 minutes ago, A True Kaniggit said:

Ohhh.. Cute little raccoon. I didn't mean that to be personal.

The thread is far past 400, and a new one hasn't been started.

I myself would've started one, but I haven't myself thought of one ≥ your current one.

Edit: . Much much embarrassment expressed after realizing that this is indeed a new thread and not a snarky response to my last post at the end of the previous thread.

Yes, I read your post, silently said "as you wish", and proceeded to make a new thread.

[fionwe1987]

Seeing some rumors that a Korean actor and K-pop star might be cast as Lan, potentially. Expecting racist backlash in 3...2...

[karaddin]

I can actually see the concern that that particular actor is too young and pretty for Lan but I suspect make up etc can make it work regardless. He could also make a pretty compelling Logain though.

[Myrddin]

In one Thread, called the Fourth WOT TV Thread by some, a someone sniffed at a perfectly sensible casting rumor. The rumor was not the beginning. There are neither beginnings nor endings in the endless cycle of Internet rumors. But it was a beginning.

[The Anti-Targ]

6 hours ago, fionwe1987 said:

Seeing some rumors that a Korean actor and K-pop star might be cast as Lan, potentially. Expecting racist backlash in 3...2...

Is WoT popular among the Gangnam stylers?

[Mladen]

1 hour ago, The Anti-Targ said:

Is WoT popular among the Gangnam stylers?

I have no idea about that but my friend who is a huge fan of WoT was ECSTATIC when I told her. I never pictured either Lan or Logain as Korean, but it seems that the actor in question is really talented.

[fionwe1987]

I did picture Lan to have East Asian features. I agree this actor looks a tad young, but the fact that he looks pretty is spot on. Lan was supposed to be very good looking when he was younger. Age him up and add scars from his many years in the Blight and he might fit. Unsure though.

He'd make a decent Logain, I agree. But while Logain's role is expanded in the show, I wonder if it's expanded enough for them to pick someone who appears to be a fairly big name?

[Corvinus85]

Could one of you post a link about who this Korean guy is. I'm not finding anything online. Thanks.

[David Selig]

2 hours ago, Corvinus said:

Could one of you post a link about who this Korean guy is. I'm not finding anything online. Thanks.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choi_Si-won

[karaddin]

2 hours ago, fionwe1987 said:

I did picture Lan to have East Asian features. I agree this actor looks a tad young, but the fact that he looks pretty is spot on. Lan was supposed to be very good looking when he was younger. Age him up and add scars from his many years in the Blight and he might fit. Unsure though.

He'd make a decent Logain, I agree. But while Logain's role is expanded in the show, I wonder if it's expanded enough for them to pick someone who appears to be a fairly big name?

I did wonder if this was meant to be the case and it just went over the head of me, and apparently many others, since the descriptions of him were rather spare. I can actually understand Nynaeves initial attraction if he looks like that rather than my very vague mental image haha.

On the second part - I'm not sure, I hope Logains role is built up that much though.

[Corvinus85]

hmm, skeptical about this being a good choice, but we'll see (if even true). I would have preferred an actor with a history of martial arts roles, and possibly actual knowledge of martial arts for Lan. 

[Ran]

1 hour ago, Corvinus said:

hmm, skeptical about this being a good choice, but we'll see (if even true). I would have preferred an actor with a history of martial arts roles, and possibly actual knowledge of martial arts for Lan. 

The actor is apparently a 4th dan black belt in Taekwondo, and claims he showed off his expertise in his audition to become part of the K-Pop group Super Junior. He's done at least one martial arts film, with Jackie Chan (and John Cusack and Adrian Brody . . . ?!?).

If Malkieri are cast Asian, that's fine, though I guess you lose those icy blue eyes. He is rather too young for Lan, though, but I'm sure Lan was supposed to be quite that handsome when he was young (I think there's a significant focus on this in "New Spring", the fact that he's rather pretty as a young man).

The idea that he may be Ingtar makes more sense to me, but who knows with this show.

[SpaceChampion]

Isn't Ingtar much older too?

This far future world isn't likely to maintain "races" that look consistent with how they are seen today.  Reality is about populations, not races anyway.  The Age of Legends was a thoroughly mixed, globalized society.  Post-breaking would have isolated groups like the Aiel, the Sharans, native Seachan-landers, and the Sea Folk.  Everyone else in main Randland would be mostly geographic-induced variations of a mixed-race continental population.

There won't be "Asian" features or "European" looks anymore.  There will be Aiel looks, and Tairen features, and Domani features, etc. etc.

Borderlands would be primarily light-skinned due to the higher latitude, whether they come from Asian, European, African or Inuit populations.  You can meet anyone anywhere.  I went to a little village 75N many years ago, and the only accommodations in town was run by a Muslim Indian man who married an Inuit woman.  Their kids looks mostly Inuit.  Their grandkids looked very Inuit.  A single drop of Indian blood isn't going to do much to the local population, but tens of thousands of both populations mixing certainly will.  In a thousand years Martian humans are going to look unique.

For Lan, the best you can do is probably a half-European, half-Asian actor with blue eyes, about 45 years old, and is 6 or more feet tall.
 

[Rhom]

I know that the cover art is a terrible thing to go by in this series... but the cover of EotW did have Lan in what I have always thought was a very Asian inspired suit of armor that looked more samurai than knight.  I think it even had the little moon symbol on the helmet.   

[Rhom]

4 minutes ago, Rhom said:

I know that the cover art is a terrible thing to go by in this series... but the cover of EotW did have Lan in what I have always thought was a very Asian inspired suit of armor that looked more samurai than knight.  I think it even had the little moon symbol on the helmet.   

So my memory wasn't perfect... but pretty close.    Probably a big part of why I don't have any cognitive dissonance to see someone of Asian descent with my image of Lan.  

The age... yes, I do have some difficulty reconciling that; but ethnicity isn't a blip on my radar.

[fionwe1987]

2 hours ago, karaddin said:

I did wonder if this was meant to be the case and it just went over the head of me, and apparently many others, since the descriptions of him were rather spare. I can actually understand Nynaeves initial attraction if he looks like that rather than my very vague mental image haha.

On the second part - I'm not sure, I hope Logains role is built up that much though.

Yeah, everyone is mooning over how beautiful Lan is in New Spring. He just looks very hard and forbidding, older, and very lean, but Nynaeve keeps going on about how beautiful he looks too.

As for blue eyes, Asians do have blue eyes. Not this actor, though, and I doubt they'll have him wear colored contacts if he's hired.

For what it's worth, Malkeiri culture has very strong Tibetan/Indian overtones. And I'd always pictured Lan as East Asian looking, as well as the Shienarans. As closely allied neighbors with lots of intermarriage, it'd make sense for them to have somewhat similar features. 

Ingtar is fairly young, though older than Rand. If they are indeed doing two books for season 1, then the actor would make a good Ingtar, I think. Otherwise, Ingtars role in book 1 is too small. Though they may well expand it and have him go to the Eye, to make his arc in the second season more poignant. 

[fionwe1987]

2 minutes ago, Rhom said:

So my memory wasn't perfect... but pretty close.    Probably a big part of why I don't have any cognitive dissonance to see someone of Asian descent with my image of Lan.  

The age... yes, I do have some difficulty reconciling that; but ethnicity isn't a blip on my radar.

Well, the cover has him with a beard. Which he doesn't have in the book. So I don't know what impact it should have, one way or the other.

The new cover for Crown of Swords, however, was from someone who actually read the books. And his features definitely have an Asian cast in that.

[Corvinus85]

38 minutes ago, Ran said:

The actor is apparently a 4th dan black belt in Taekwondo, and claims he showed off his expertise in his audition to become part of the K-Pop group Super Junior. He's done at least one martial arts film, with Jackie Chan (and John Cusack and Adrian Brody . . . ?!?).

I didn't know K-Pop groups were so hardcore.  

But, agreed, he really is a bit too young. Makeup to age someone is fine, I guess, but I'd still prefer a guy in his 40s for the role. Ruggedly handsome, not a pretty face, is how I pictured Lan. After all, Jordan was pretty much inspired by Aragon with him.

Ingtar would be good choice.