If there are three things that are hot right now, then those three things are fantasy series (see also; House Of The Dragon, The Rings Of Power, A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms), romances (see also; Heated Rivalry, Off Campus, The Love Hypothesis), and juicy book adaptations (see also; all those Harlan Coben and Colleen Hoover films and series). And with Fourth Wing, Prime Video's upcoming adaptation of writer Rebecca Yarros' wildly popular YA romantasy series, Amazon is hoping to hit the trifecta. Key to the show's success will be how well it pulls off protagonists Violet Sorrengail and Xaden Riorson's enemies-to-lovers relationship — and so fans have been eagerly awaiting casting news for the spicy series' leads. That wait is now over, Empyreans.
Per Variety's reporting, We Were Liars and Obi-Wan Kenobi star Esther McGregor (yes, daughter of Ewan) has signed on to star as reluctant dragon rider in the making Violet, while German actor Emilio Sakraya — perhaps best known for the likes of Warrior Nun, Those About To Die, and his recent casting in One Piece — is on as the brooding, shadow-wielding Xaden. Per the books, the chalk-and-cheese pair cross paths at Basgiath War College, a cutthroat institute looking to train the next generation of fictitious nation Navarre's elite dragon riders. The college's single rule is literally "Graduate or Die", and Yarros' books' mix of dragon-centric high fantasy with slow-burning, sensual romance and constant high stakes has made the Fourth Wing books a global phenomenon, with readers all over deeply invested in Violet, Xaden, and the goings-on at Basgiath.
Boasting Anne With An E's Meredith Averill as showrunner, Fallout duo Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan and Michael B. Jordan among its executive producers, and now two fan-approved stars as its romantic leads, Prime Video's Fourth Wing — which, all being well, is expected to adapt Yarros' full five-novel sequence (of which three are already out there, with a further two to come) — is already off to a flying start. We expect we'll be hearing a lot more about this one in the weeks and months to come. Game Of Thrones, watch your six!