'The Wheel of Time' Season 3 Casts Faile and Key Aiel Roles

Prime Video has announced five new cast members joining “The Wheel of Time” for its third season, slated to premiere globally on March 13, 2025. Isabella Bucceri, Nukâka Coster-Waldau, Salóme Gunnarsdóttir, Björn Landberg, and Synnøve Macody Lund will join the adaptation of Robert Jordan’s popular fantasy series.

This casting news also marks the return of #WotWednesdays, a social media tradition that began in 2018 when Showrunner Rafe Judkins started sharing series adaptation updates with fans of Robert Jordan’s novels. The weekly reveals have since become a cornerstone of the show’s pre-season engagement with fans.

The New Cast

Isabella Bucceri will take on the role of Faile Bashere, a Saldaean “Hunter of the Horn” whose quest brings her to the Two Rivers. Bucceri, known for Finally Me and Everything in Between, will be at the center of one of the major plotlines of the season as she joins Perrin in the Two Rivers, where our story began.

The Official Teaser Trailer left no doubt that Season 3 will focus heavily on Aiel culture. It comes as no surprise, then, that we are introduced to a several notable Aiel characters from the books. The casting announcement reveals two Wise Ones of the Taardad Aiel: Nukâka Coster-Waldau (Thin Ice, Anori) as Bair, and Salóme Gunnarsdóttir (The Lazarus Project, Justice League) as Melaine. Both characters are noted to possess a “mystical ability”, likely Dreamwalking, though only Bair is mentioned as being able to channel the One Power.

Bair is further described as having wisdom and authority that surpass those of the Clan Chief. This leads us to Björn Landberg (German series Galileo Mystery, Unter uns) who plays Rhuarc, the respected Clan Chief of the Taardad Aiel. Like all other clan chiefs, Rhuarc has travelled to Rhuidean and returned with secret knowledge he cannot share. His role will likely be important in Rand’s journey with the Aiel in Season 3.

Lastly, Synnøve Macody Lund (Ragnarok, Saw X) will portray Melindhra, a Malkieri raised by the Taardad Aiel. While Melindhra is character from the books, her origin story appears to have been altered in the adaptation.

Rand and Moiraine in the Aiel Waste, likely facing Bair and Melaine

Book-to-Screen

Note: The section below might contain minor spoiler. Major spoilers will be hidden.

First, Rhuarc is presented as he is known to book readers: the well-respected Clan Chief of the Taardad Aiel. Bair, who is a Wise One of the Shaarad Aiel in Robert Jordan’s books, is made to belong to the Taardad—a clan we were already introduced to in Season 2 through Aviendha. In addition to the clan switch, Bair will be both a Channeler and a Dreamwalker in the show, whereas in the books, she could not channel.

Melaine also now belongs to the Taardad Aiel, rather than her original clan, the Goshien. While Bair gained the ability to channel in the adaptation, Melaine loses it. In the show, she remains a Dreamwalker but will not be a Channeler.

Melindhra also changes clans, though with a twist. She is no longer of the Shaido Aiel; in fact, she’s not Aiel at all. Instead, she is portrayed as a “Malkieri survivor” who was taken in by the Taardad. This raises intriguing possibilities of a connection to Lan, the last survivor of the Malkieri royal line and the uncrowned King of the fallen nation.

Perrin and Faile kissing in a scene from the season 3 trailer

Perrin and Faile kissing in a scene from the Official Season 3 Teaser Trailer

As for Faile, the only noticeable change from the announcement is when and where she is introduced in the story. In the novels, we first meet Faile in the town of Remen, where Perrin passes through with Moiraine, Lan, and Loial. This is also where we first meet Gaul, another Aiel yet to be cast for the show. Faile (or Zarine, her real name in the books) joins Perrin’s group there and later journeys with him to the Two Rivers in The Shadow Rising.

The Question of Amys

Show spoiler

Another, perhaps simpler, way to view the changes to Bair’s character is that they may not be changes at all, but merely a name swap—Bair is essentially Amys by another name. This could explain both her new clan and her channeling ability, as well as the absence of Rhuarc’s wife, Amys. While this is largely speculative, we will find out in just a few weeks whether Bair has taken the place of Amys, or if Amys will indeed appear in the show, with her casting being intentionally withheld.

Previous Coverage by WotSeries

WotSeries previously reported on 4 of the 5 newly announced cast members. We covered Salóme Gunnarsdóttir here. Additionally, we released a story on the castings of Nukâka Coster-Waldau, Björn Landberg, and Synnøve Macody Lund. Lastly, we believe that the possible Aiel audition script we posted might have been for the character of Melaine.

All episodes of the first two seasons of The Wheel of Time are now available on Prime Video. Season 3 premiers on Prime Video on March 13, 2025.

Photo credits: Steph Pedersen (Isabella Bucceri), Hein (Nukâka Coster-Waldau), Gunnlöð Jóna (Salóme Gunnarsdóttir), Katja Kuhl (Björn Landberg), and Fred Jonny (Synnøve Madocy Lund).