iwot productions announced today that it is developing The White Tower, a feature-length animated film inspired by Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time fantasy epic, in collaboration with Squeeze Animation Studios.
Squeeze, the award-winning Quebec subsidiary of Cinesite, has created 3D animation for well-known brands, working with studios such as Universal, Illumination, Disney and Marvel across film, TV, game cinematics and theme park experiences.
”The opportunity to bring a unique visual style to the vast immersive world of The Wheel of Time aligns with our company mission and passion to provide high quality animation that entertains and engages audiences of all demographics,” said Squeeze CEO Denis Doré. “Our team is highly motivated to bring this amazing project to life!”
The film will be based on an original story set within Jordan’s vast universe by screenwriter Zack Stentz (Thor, X-Men: First Class, Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous).
“I have been a lifelong fan of the world Robert Jordan created, particularly The White Tower, which serves the mysterious Aes Sedai sisterhood as a capitol, residence, school and fortress,” said Stentz. “It was a dream fulfilled to be offered the opportunity to author a new story that takes place within an iconic setting that will be immediately familiar to Jordan fans around the world.”
The animated feature will be set in a time before the events chronicled in the popular The Wheel of Time television series from Amazon Studios and Sony Pictures Television. It is an action-adventure about a young girl with a special gift whose life is forever changed when evil visits her remote mountain village. Finding herself alone in a dangerous world, she must go to The White Tower to learn how to use her magical powers in order to save her family and friends. Rebellious and distrusting, she learns that friendship can be as powerful a weapon against evil as any form of magic.
“The animation platform has given us the means to expand The Wheel of Time experience by targeting a young adult audience while remaining loyal to the world long cherished by Wheel of Time fans,” said Rick Selvage, CEO of iwot productions. “The White Tower is an actionpacked adventure, with a transcendent message of female empowerment that will inspire a new generation of imaginative young women.
The Wheel of Time is an ambitious adaptation to tackle, not only due to its global fan following but the sheer scale of Jordan’s storytelling and world creation. The series’ 14 novels use 4.4 million words to tell a story covering less than three years, while introducing more than 2,750 named characters and a backstory spanning a mythos of 3,000 years.
The film will be produced by Rick Selvage and Larry Mondragon of iwot productions, and by Zack Stentz of Electric Brain Entertainment. Separately, Selvage and Mondragon serve as executive producers on the television adaptation of The Wheel of Time being co-produced by Amazon Studios and Sony Pictures Television, available on Amazon’s Prime Video network in more than 200 countries and territories. Stentz is represented by Susan Solomon at Circle of Confusion and Bryan Swatt at Hansen Jacobson.
No distributor for The White Tower picture has been named at this time.
