The Rings Of Power Is Going One Better Than Prime Video's Other Big Live-Action Fantasy Adaptation

Image courtesy of MovieStillsDb Published Oct 16, 2026, 2:16 PM EDT Cathal Gunning has been writing about movies, television, culture, and politics online and in print since 2017. He worked as a Senior Editor in Adbusters Media Foundation from 2018-2019 and wrote for WhatCulture in early 2020. He has been a Senior Features Writer for ScreenRant since 2020. Although Prime Video’s other live-action fantasy adaptation was almost as epic in scope, the Lord of the Rings prequel The Rings of Power is set to outdo this earlier series with one major achievement. Now that Prime Video’s Carrie has arrived to critical and commercial success, it is almost time for the true test of Mike Flanagan’s collaboration with the streaming service. Some ten years after a misguided movie adaptation attempted to compress the epic dark fantasy novel series into an incomprehensible 95-minute movie, Prime Video and Flanagan are turning Stephen King’s The Dark Tower saga into a streaming show. Ordinarily, the news that such an ambitious project is being released on the small screen might seem like cause for concern, but Prime Video are uniquely equipped to handle the series. Famously, Prime Video’s Lord of the Rings prequel The Rings of Power is the most expensive TV show ever made, with a budget of over $50 million per episode according to some estimates. Despite how jaw dropping this number is, The Rings of Power proved itself to be a worthwhile investment for the streaming service, outdoing similarly expensive Prime Video efforts like the short-lived spy franchise Citadel. The series also outlived The Wheel of Time, a similarly ambitious, epic, and expensive live-action fantasy adaptation from the same era. With Season 4 In Development, The Rings Of Power Is Going One Better Than The Wheel Of Time Image courtesy of MovieStillsDb Based on the book series of the same name by author Robert Jordan, The Wheel of Time followed Rosamund Pike’s Moraine Damodred, a powerful channeller searching for a mythical figure whose fate could destroy or reshape the world. While Pike’s central role was pivotal to the show’s success, The Wheel of Time was less of a character study and more of a sprawling ensemble piece in the vein of HBO’s iconic Game of Thrones, or, indeed, the next year’s The Rings Of Power. However, all good things must come to an end and, while The Wheel of Time fared well with critics throughout its three-season run, the show ended in 2025 after 24 episodes. The Wheel of Time’s cancellation may have been the result of its big budget or its declining viewership, although the show had not yet completed its story by the season 3 finale. While viewers mounted a campaign to save the show, this didn’t result in a renewal. Thus, the news that The Rings Of Power will receive a fourth season proves that Prime Video’s most expensive series ever has officially outdone its biggest live-action fantasy competitor at the streaming service, for better or worse. This arguably shouldn’t come as a huge shock, since The Rings Of Power has links to the Lord of the Rings franchise and came with a bigger in-built existing fan base as a result. Does The Rings Of Power Deserve A Season 4 As Much As The Wheel Of Time? Image via MovieStillsDB That said, Prime Video’s Spider-Noir was far less expensive to produce than The Rings Of Power and boasted clear canon links to one of the most popular intellectual properties on earth, the Spider-Man franchise. Yet, the series was still canceled after only one season in 2026. As such, one could argue that Prime Video’s decision to renew The Rings Of Power but cancel The Wheel Of Time is driven as much by sunken cost as by artistic merit. At the end of the day, any speculation on why one expensive live-action fantasy show made it to a fourth outing while the other didn’t is just that: speculation. However, it is worth noting that the sprawling story of The Rings Of Power features more subplots and characters than The Wheel Of Time’s comparatively straightforward saga. Thus, some fans of The Rings Of Power might argue the show deserves more screen time, while The Wheel Of Time defenders could feel the tighter series should have been given a chance to wrap up its plot. Release Date 2021 - 2025-00-00 Network Prime Video Showrunner Rafe Judkins Directors Sanaa Hamri, Ciaran Donnelly, Salli Richardson-Whitfield, Thomas Napper, Maja Vrvilo, Wayne Che Yip Writers Amanda Kate Shuman, Dave Hill, Rohit Kumar, Justine Juel Gillmer, Celine Song, Rammy Park, The Clarksons Twins, Katherine B. McKenna Franchise(s) The Wheel of Time Creator(s) Rafe Judkins