Cinefantastique Online

The Post and Courier recycles a report from Variety:

Universal Pictures has acquired film rights to Robert Jordan’s bestselling “The Wheel of Time” series of 12 fantasy novels. Jordan was the pen name for the late Charleston author James O. Rigney.

The seven-figure deal suggests multiple adaptations may be made, beginning with the first book in the cycle, “The Eye of the World.” Rick Selvage and Larry Mondragon are on tap to produce for Red Eagle Entertainment, publisher of the graphic novel adaptations of Jordan’s books.

“Yes, it (the report) is legitimate. We have signed a contract with Universal,” said Rigney’s widow (and editor) Harriet Popham Rigney. “But the project is not yet in development.”

Published by TOR Books, “The Wheel of Time” series is generally regarded as the most detailed and richly imagined realm since “The Lord of the Rings.” It is among the best-selling in the history of fantasy publishing, with thousands of Web sites devoted in whole or in part to his writing. At the time of his death, Rigney had sold an estimated 44 million copies, with the latter four installments of the series ascending to No. 1 on The New York Times bestseller list. The books also have given birth to computer, trading-card and role-playing games, comic books, a soundtrack and fan sites.