“Fouth Wing” fans finally have their Xaden Riorson.
Amazon Prime Video revealed Thursday that Emilio Sakraya will play the brooding male lead alongside Esther McGregor as Violet Sorrengail, the protagonist and narrator of the fantasy book series. They’re the main characters in Rebecca Yarros’ “Fourth Wing” trilogy (which has two more books on the way), about magic-wielding dragon riders.
In the books, Xaden is described as a large, dominating wing leader with dark, intimidating features who is highly revered by the rest of the Basgiath War College. He originally detests Violet because of past familial drama, but it doesn’t take long for their tense relationship to descend into steamy romance.
Sakraya, a 30-year-old German actor, has numerous credits to his name, including “Rhinegold,” Netflix’s “Tribes of Europa” and “Warrior Nun.” His other recent projects include “Those About to Die,” and he’s set to appear in Season 3 of “One Piece.” In these roles, he’s gotten experience playing rebel leaders and performing his own combat sequences and stunts. Along with his action-packed TV and filmography, Sakraya is also a musician. As an electronic pop artist, he has over 300,000 monthly listeners on Spotify and has sold out tours across Europe.
While BookTok fans may be unfamiliar with Sakraya, they are well acquainted with McGregor after her breakout role in “We Were Liars,” Amazon Prime’s 2025 hit adaptation of E. Lockhart’s novel of the same name. The 24-year-old actress also appeared opposite Nicole Kidman in Halina Reijn’s “Babygirl,” along with roles in Disney+’s “Obi-Wan Kenobi” (starring her father Ewan McGregor) and Freevee’s “High School.” In the novels, Violet is described as a small, frail cadet with dark black hair subtly streaked with silver who requires significantly more dragon-riding practice and precision than her peers.
The official release date for the “Fourth Wing” adaptation is yet to be announced, but the casting of Violet and Xaden brings fans one step closer. There are several other prominent characters like Dain Aetos, Liam Mairi or Rhiannon Matthias who will surely be announced as production ramps up. Fans will have to wait and see if McGregor and Sakraya will live up to the tall task of capturing the brutal world of Basgiath War College.