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If you’ve walked into a bookstore in the past two years, you’ve almost certainly seen it: a striking cover featuring a dragon, stacked high on display tables and recommended shelves alike. Rebecca Yarros’s romantasy novel Fourth Wing became an instant classic after its release in 2023, captivating millions of readers with its blend of romance, fantasy, and high-stakes dragon warfare. Now, that beloved story is heading to the small screen — and fans are eager for every detail they can get.
Here’s everything we know so far about the upcoming adaptation, from the production team behind it to the swirling casting rumors that have taken over social media.
Prime Video Picked Up the Entire Series
In October 2023, Prime Video announced that it would be adapting Yarros’s entire Empyrean book series, not just the first novel. The streamer is developing a TV series with actor Michael B. Jordan’s production company, Outlier Society.
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It’s a significant commitment. The Empyrean books are still being published, with the most recent third book, titled Onyx Storm, releasing in January 2025. That means the show’s source material is still actively expanding — a situation that presents both opportunity and challenge for the creative team adapting it for television.
As for when viewers can expect to actually watch the show, that remains unclear. Prime Video has not shared many updates on the show’s development, and no premiere date has been announced.
A New Showrunner Takes the Helm
Behind the scenes, the production has experienced a notable shake-up. Deadline shared a major update in late September 2025, reporting that the original showrunner, Moira Walley-Beckett, left the production in July. Amazon MGM Studios found her replacement in Meredith Averill, the outlet reported.
Averill brings significant genre experience to the project. The TV producer is best known for executive producing Wednesday season 2 and The Haunting of Hill House — two series that balanced dark, fantastical worlds with compelling character-driven storytelling. For fans of Fourth Wing, that combination of skills could translate well to a story that juggles dragon battles, military academy intrigue, and a central love story.
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Michael B. Jordan Says the Team Is ‘in the Lab’
Producer Michael B. Jordan offered a reassuring update in a January 2026 interview with Deadline, acknowledging both the passion of the fan base and the weight of the responsibility.
“We are making sure that this is going to be an exciting show that delivers on all of the things the fans want and some of the things that they won’t be expecting either,” he said. “But trust me, I know how beloved this franchise IP is, and we’re diligently…We’re in the lab, we’re cooking up. We got it. It’s coming. It’s early stages, but I feel how much people care about this one. It’s not lost on us.”
The message was clear: the team knows the stakes, and they’re taking their time to get it right.
No Cast Has Been Announced — But Rumors Are Swirling
Prime Video has yet to announce any cast members for the upcoming series. That hasn’t stopped fans from engaging in plenty of discourse around who should play 20-year-old heroine Violet Sorrengail and her love interest, Xaden Riorson — two characters who have inspired fierce devotion among readers.
While no one is attached yet, the author herself has weighed in on one critical detail: Xaden will be played by a person of color. Speaking to Variety in November 2023, Yarros explained her reasoning for keeping his appearance intentionally open in the books.
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“We’re just going to say he’s POC; we’re just going to leave it at that. I didn’t rise to the bait of a lot of those [fan] posts, which I think probably got me some flak, but I knew we were already in development for TV, and I want to make sure that role is open to as much diversity as possible. So I was never going to give the readers my vision because I know that once you give the readers your vision, that’s what they’re gonna stick to. And I wanted to make sure we left it open to as much diversity as possible.”
Fan-Favorite Casting Picks
Even without official announcements, several names have emerged repeatedly in fan conversations.
Australian star Josh Heuston is often mentioned to play either Xaden or Bodhi, his younger cousin. The actor was asked about the fan speculation on a red carpet by Bravo Australia and, when asked if they could call him Xaden, he responded, “You have to ask the scribes, I suppose.” The playful response — a nod to the book’s world, where scribes serve as scholars and record-keepers — only fueled further speculation.
Emilio Sakraya is often listed as a Xaden fancast, while Mackenzie Foy is often mentioned for Violet.
What Is ‘Fourth Wing’ Actually About?
In the world of Fourth Wing, there are dragons — and those dragons meet their riders at an elite school known as Basgiath War College. The story follows Violet Sorrengail, a young woman who eschews what she thought would be a quiet life as a scribe for a chance to spar alongside other riders and bond with not one but two dragons.
She also meets the traitorous Xaden Riorson, a wingleader already bonded to the dragon Sgaeyl, as he helps train Violet for dragonback — and for the war threatening their homeland of Navarre. The combination of a fierce heroine, a morally complex love interest, epic dragon lore, and a dangerous military academy has proven to be a formula that resonates deeply with readers.
