The Wheel of Time’s second season is nearing its final episode on Prime Video, with it being set to release on the streamer this week Friday, October 6. Although we may not have the last episode for you to feast your eyes upon, we do still come bearing gifts as we were lucky enough to get the chance to speak to season 2 director Sanaa Hamri who helmed this week’s upcoming finale.
Hamri’s career is impressive, to say the least, from directing high-profile music videos for artists such as Nicki Minaj to helming episodes for some of the most talked about streaming shows today including the unreleased second season of The Rings of Power and The Boys spinoff Gen V, both also on Prime Video.
See below for what Hamri had to say about The Wheel of Time, Rings of Power, and Gen V.
Sanaa Hamri Talks Wheel of Time Season 2
CoveredGeekly: With the creative process, what are the differences between working on music videos and working on a show like Wheel of Time?
My last music video was for Nicki Minaj’s “Super Bass” so it’s been a long time. However, I can say that working on high fantasy action shows requires a deep knowledge of creating stylized worlds, unique camera movements, and meticulous technical knowledge.
All of those elements are required to master when doing music videos for high-profile artists. So I was basically trained for this type of genre when I was a music video director.
CoveredGeekly: What are the challenges when adapting such a grand-scale book with such a huge fanbase? How do you decide what’s important enough to adapt and what isn’t?
This is a great question for Rafe Judkins, the writer and showrunner of The Wheel of Time. He did a tremendous job taking great story from Robert Jordan’s books and turning it into series. There are 14 volumes so kudos to him!
CoveredGeekly: While watching the second season, I had quite the worry that there wouldn’t be enough screen time for everyone, making some characters less interesting than others. Is this a concern you also have taking on an ensemble cast and how do you tackle this situation?
As a filmmaker, I am as good as my scripts. I wasn’t worried at all because there was enough time spent developing the characters in Season 1 in order to truly know who they are and what they are personally struggling with.
Season 2 is about following each of them and going for the ride so it tracks strongly.
CoveredGeekly: Directing the final episode of the season is a huge task, it’s the episode that will keep viewers talking the longest. Are you proud of what you were able to achieve with the finale and what was your favourite scene to direct in the finale?
The finale is tremendous and has all the elements that define this show. I am so proud of the actors as well as all the crew. It’s such a special episode for me personally because we filmed it in my home country of Morocco in the Sahara Desert.
The locations are fantastic and one of my favorite scenes is where we filmed The Ways. Such a spectacular location and camera shots. Morocco is such a beautiful country to film in and it was a highlight for me.
Gen V & Rings of Power Season 2
CoveredGeekly: Thanks for taking the time out of your day for this interview, we truly appreciate it at CoveredGeekly. Before you head off, do you have anything you want to say to our readers or are there any upcoming projects you’d like to promote?
Absolutely! Please check out the new show on Prime Video called Gen V which is a spin-off of The Boys. I directed the finale episode and found this show to be so special and the cast is incredible.
I am equally excited about Season 2 of The Rings of Power (also on Prime Video) which I directed some episodes for as well. That show was an extraordinary experience for me as I am such a fan of J. R. R. Tolkien.
The final episode of The Wheel of Time Season 2 is available to stream on October 6 exclusively on Prime Video.
