The Wheel of Time‘s second season has come and gone, yet fans still continue to debate the merits of the Prime Video series’ latest changes to author Robert Jordan’s original canon. But it wasn’t just Jordan’s novels that showrunner Rafe Judkins and his team tinkered with this time around. They also recast Barney Harris as Mat Cauthon in Wheel of Time Season 2 – which begs the question: why?
It’s a mystery made all the more intriguing by Amazon MGM Studios’ decision not to divulge the circumstances surrounding Harris’ exit from the fantasy series. Indeed, the production company’s silence has only fueled speculation on the subject, including rumors that have proven to be straight-up false.
With this in mind, we’ve sifted through all the available information to bring you the reason why Barney Harris was replaced as Mat in Wheel of Time Season 2.
Related: Amazon’s Wheel of Time Has a Serious Dragon Reborn Problem
Why Wheel of Time Recast Mat Cauthon in Season 2
Amazon MGM Studios confirmed Barney Harris’ departure from The Wheel of Time in September 2021, two months before Season 1’s premiere. As we said above, the studio didn’t give a reason why Harris was parting ways with the show at the time and has remained equally tight-lipped in the years since.
That said, recent reports revealed that Harris stepped down as Mat when The Wheel of Time Season 1 went on hiatus after wrapping only six of its eight episodes due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This revelation sent the online rumor mill into overdrive, with several entertainment news outlets attributing Harris’ choice not to film Season 1’s seventh and eighth installments under COVID-19 restrictions to his supposed refusal to get vaccinated.
Harris himself has since contested these allegations, as one intrepid Reddit user discovered in August 2023. According to a legal complaint unearthed by Redditor Alternative-City-138, Harris successfully challenged several outlets that reported he was forced out of The Wheel of Time because he adopted an anti-vax stance – a claim the star described as “defamatory” and “verifiably false” – forcing them to delete their respective articles.
While Harris’ legal complaint links to a webpage that debunks his purported status as an anti-vaxxer, it doesn’t supply the real reason why he left Wheel of Time before filming his remaining Season 1 scenes. Even so, more recent reports have cited unspecified mental health issues as the true motivation for Harris’ decision to vacate the Mat Cauthon part. And given Harris is yet to threaten action against the websites that have run this story, it seems safe to say this is why he was recast for Wheel of Time Season 2.
Related: The Wheel of Time Season 3 Is Official at Amazon
Who Plays Mat Cauthon in Wheel of Time Season 2?
Regardless of the specifics involved, Harris’ exit left Judkins and his team in a tough spot. Not only did they have to use archival footage of the actor to wrap up Mat’s Wheel of Time Season 1 arc, but they also had to find someone else to play the role going forward.
Enter: Dònal Finn. The Irish star signed on to play Mat in The Wheel of Time Season 2 in September 2021, and went on to bring the Two Rivers’ resident rogue to life across the entire season. What’s more, Finn hasn’t given any indication that he’ll be following his predecessor’s lead and departing the show early, so fans can expect to see him continue to portray Mat when The Wheel of Time Season 3 finally arrives.
