Amazon has had its sights set on becoming the next harbinger of a Game of Thrones-type phenomenon for quite a while. In the years following the blockbuster series, the studio has gotten to work on a number of projects to rival the George R. R. Martin classic, namely The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power and the adaptation of Robert Jordan’s high fantasy series The Wheel of Time.
Since Amazon has no shortage of cash flow, both series have doled out an exorbitant amount of money to bring their respective fantasy worlds to life. For The Wheel of Time, that included dropping its cast and crew in a vast array of filming locations taken straight out of Game of Thrones’ handbook — i.e. Eastern Europe. In fact, Game of Thrones fans will even recognize a city in the first season of The Wheel of Time as the backdrop for King’s Landing.
Both seasons one and two were filmed mostly in Prague in the Czech Republic, but the production team utilized several other prominent cities as well. Below, you’ll find a detailed breakdown of filming locations that give context to how Amazon managed to pull off this multi-million-dollar epic fantasy.
Where was season one of The Wheel of Time filmed?
In order to accommodate the vast world Robert Jordan created in The Wheel of Time, Amazon did what any respectable studio would do and erected and named an entire studio after its creator: Jordan Studios. Of course, this was purely from a logistical standpoint — a 350,000-square-foot studio is not that easy to come by.
Jordan Studios is located in Prague, a populous city in the Czech Republic where a vast majority of the first season was filmed. The studio was used to film a wide array of interior scenes but also housed departments such as the visual effects unit, the costume department, the stunt gym, the accounting department, writing offices, and “football-field-size soundstages,” among several others, according to GQ.
The fictional town of Two Rivers, which was portrayed in the series premiere, was created and filmed in a quarry outside of Prague, although by the time the cast and crew were done with it, it was completely burned to a crisp. The historic ruins of Dolský mlýn were also used to film additional scenes throughout the season.
Beyond the Czech Republic, the first season of The Wheel of Time filmed a number of mountainous scenes in and around the town of Bovec and the village of Soca in Slovenia.
As for Croatia — the production team filmed in the town of Dubrovnik, which also just so happened to serve as King’s Landing in Game of Thrones (we see what you’re doing, Amazon — wink, wink).
Scenes taking place in The Blight were originally supposed to be filmed on the island of La Gomera in the Canary Islands, but due to COVID-19 restrictions, director Ciaran Donnelly, who filmed the finale, said in a behind-the-scenes video that they were forced to replicate the artificial forest in Jordan Studios.
Where was season two of The Wheel of Time filmed?
As of this writing, official filming locations for season two have not been announced, however, one can reasonably assume a vast majority of the season will be filmed in the Czech Republic due to Jordan Studios residing within Prague.
That being said, the popular Wheel of Time news site, Wotseries.com, which is not affiliated with Sony Pictures, Amazon Studios, or the Bandersnatch Group, has also reported that season two has been filmed in several cities within Italy and Morocco.
Calanchi Di Aliano, a southern Italian region of Basilicata, and Ginosa, a small comune in Taranto, Apulia, were named as two southern Italian filming locations, as well as Masseria Lo Spagnulo and Masseria Borzone.
Locations filmed within the Czech Republic reportedly include Jindřichův Hradec, Letohrádek Hvězda, and Chateau Karlova Koruna.
As for Morocco — the only city named is the south-central capital of Ouarzazate Province, Ouarzazate.
As the second season of The Wheel of Time inches closer to its eventual release date, more information regarding its confirmed filming locations will emerge. We Got This Covered will update you with the news as it is announced.
