Where Is The Wheel of Time Filming Location?

March 2024 · 4 minute read

Where is the Wheel of Time filmed? 

So where precisely is the Wheel of Time filming location? They film the series on location in Europe, with the key Wheel of Time filming location being the Czech Republic, mostly in and around Prague.

Along with the Czech Republic, filming has also occurred in Slovenia, Croatia, and other European countries.

Filming for Wheel of Time began in September 2019. But like with many other films and series, the COVID-19 pandemic forced production to take a break. Luckily, filming resumed in April 2021, giving the series just enough time to finish shooting for a November 2021 release!

Outdoor Wheel of Time filming locations

Many of the Wheel of Time filming locations are outdoors. To create some of the show’s fantastical landscapes, the production spruced up the backgrounds with CGI. 

For example, a landscape in the pilot episode combines the European countryside with stone pillars from Zhangjiajie National Forest Park in China. Combining two equally beautiful but different locations helped create a landscape that’s fantastical, yet realistic. And it looks awesome on screen.

“One thing that was important for me from the beginning was that this world feel authentic and real…even if we end up augmenting or enhancing it later with visual effects,” said Rafe Judkins, executive producer and showrunner

“There is a scene where two of our leads, Rand al’Thor and Egwene Al’Ver, have a conversation sitting on a rock looking down at their home in this Alpine environment. We could have easily used a rock with some grass around it in Prague, but we actually took the actors to the top of a huge mountain pass in Slovenia. What we did was add in their home village of the Two Rivers and the two actual rivers at the bottom of the shot, but the rest of it is in camera.” 

The mountains 

While CGI was employed for many landscape shots, other Wheel of Time filming locations looked fantastic enough on their own. 

Remember the scene with the group of women “Leavetaking”? According to Atlas of Wonders, this was filmed in the Rakov Škocjan Valley in Slovenia. The picturesque stone bridge and beautiful caves are located around 44 km south of the Slovenian capital, Ljubljana. Most scenes with mountainous backdrops, like the horseback riding sequences, were filmed in the Bovec region of Slovenia. 

Filming also took place in Dubrovnik, Croatia, which is notable for also being a Game of Thrones filming location. 

The Wheel of Time studio

The production could not film every scene out in the elements, however. The production still needed a sound stage where they could film sequences in specially-built sets.

According to WoT Series, the main Wheel of Time filming location was Jordan Studios in Prague. 

Jordan Studios is named after the Wheel of Time author Robert Jordan and was built specifically for the production. The studio has a massive 32,000 square meters of space that houses multiple sound stages. You can see for yourself just how massive it is on this aerial overview

The Two Rivers

Some of the most striking scenes in the series take place at Two Rivers, the village where Moiraine finds the Dragon candidates. The production also built Two Rivers from scratch in a quarry that sits near Jordan Studios. 

Building a village from scratch was a massive undertaking – especially since the Trollocs burnt it down in the premiere episode. But according to Judkins, Amazon Prime was onboard with the decision: “One of the crazy things about now is just how ready and willing networks are to just look you in the eye, and you say, ‘I’m going to build the Two Rivers and then we’re going to burn it down at the end of episode one.’ And they’re like: ‘Great. What’s next?’” 

Wheel of Time has an estimated budget of nearly $10 million per episode, which goes to show how the production spared no expense. The real buildings lend an extra harrowing layer of authenticity to the show, making the stakes even more intense.

Wheel of Time filming locations for season 2

What about Wheel of Time filming locations for the second season? 

According to WoT Series, a castle called Jindřichův Hradec located in the Czech Republic was set aside for filming in October and November of 2021. The castle is one of the largest in the Czech Republic, covering nearly 3 hectares of space.

But what about the season 2 premiere date? While no firm date has been set, Bell of Lost Souls shares that showrunner Rafe Judkins has confirmed a mid to late 2023 release. BOLS also shares that filming wrapped in 2022, meaning that the delay since then means more post-production work to keep Wheel of Time looking spectacular.

We can’t wait to see what kind of scenes will take place in Jindřichův Hradec and beyond when the second season of Wheel of Time does finally drop! 

Need your medical dramas like you need your fantasy shows? Then you might want to see where they filmed Good Sam next!

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