‘Fourth Wing’ TV Show News: Everything We Know About Prime Video’s ‘Onyx Storm’ Adaptation
Rebecca Yarros’s Fourth Wing book series, aka The Empyrean, is one of the hottest romantacy sagas taking over the world right now. With the recent release of Onyx Storm, the long-awaited third installment in the series, fans are understandably wondering, what’s going on with Amazon’s live action TV adaptation of the material? Prime Video and Michael B. Jordan‘s production company Outlier Society have had the rights to Fourth Wing and its four sequels for over a year, so what gives with the status of the TV show? And why should you be hyped for a Fourth Wing TV show even if you haven’t read BookTok’s latest beloved book series?
The steamy, dreamy Fourth Wing follows 20-year-old Violet Sorrengail as she’s forced to enter Basgiath War College’s treacherous “Riders” wing, in the hopes of claiming a dragon and becoming a hero or dying in the process. Violet soon learns to use her wits and courage to survive. Along the way, she makes true friends, deadly enemies, and unwittingly finds herself in quite the tense love triangle between childhood best friend Dain Aetos and Xaden Riorson, the only son of her family’s sworn, fallen enemy.
Fourth Wing has action, romance, suspense, terrifying twists, expansive world-building, and, yes, dragons galore. So what’s the status of the Fourth Wing TV show over at Amazon? Is Prime Video still making a Fourth Wing TV show? Here’s everything we know about the Fourth Wing Prime Video TV adaptation so far…
Will There Be a Fourth Wing TV Show or Film? Is Amazon Still Making a Fourth Wing Show at Prime Video?
As far as we know, Prime Video is still planning on making a Fourth Wing television series at some point in the near future.
On October 30, 2023, trades like Variety and Deadline reported that Prime Video and Michael B. Jordan’s Outlier Society had acquired the television rights for Rebecca Yarros’s bestselling novel Fourth Wing, as well as its four then-planned sequels. To date, two of those sequels — Iron Flame and Onyx Fire — have been released and two more are still anticipated. Yarros even went so far as to confirm the news back in 2023 on her Instagram, noting that this deal had been in the works since December 2022 and she would have an executive producing credit.
When Will the Fourth Wing Show Be on Prime Video? Who is the Fourth Wing Showrunner?
We don’t know yet, as the show is still in pre-production. However, there have been a number of meaningful updates to the project in the last year.
Last summer, Moira Walley-Beckett was tapped to be the Fourth Wing adaptation’s showrunner. Walley-Beckett is perhaps best known for her work on Breaking Bad, including writing the iconic episode, “Ozymandias,: for which she won an Emmy. Walley-Beckett has also created the Starz ballet drama, Flesh and Bone, which unflinchingly dealt with psychological warfare, grisly body horror, and sexy romances in a dance academy. Most recently, she was heralded for her work creating and showrunning the beloved Netflix Anne of Green Gables reinterpretation, Anne With an E. So she sounds like exactly the right person to nail the tone of Fourth Wing.
Who is in the Fourth Wing Cast? Which Actors are Playing Xaden, Violet, and More?
While many book fans might already have fan cast actor as Xaden and Violet in their heads, so far, we have no official word on who will play the iconic characters on screen. Not even Rebecca Yarros herself will share her dream actor for the role of Xaden, though she has assured fans that Outlier Society and Prime Video are committed to not “whitewashing” the tall, dark, and handsome character, who is described as having “tawny skin” in the books.
“They know how staunch I am against whitewashing Xaden,” Yarros was heard a telling a crowd of fans at a recent Q&A. “And so I think that’s the biggest thing.”
What is Fourth Wing About? Why Do People Like the Fourth Wing Books?
The catchphrase most associated with Fourth Wing is “Ride or Die,” which sums up life at Basgiath College for students attempting the perilous path to become a dragonrider. From the moment we’re hurled into this fantasy world, would-be riders die crossing a treacherous parapet, sparring in fight training, running afoul of dragons, or even at the hands of their fellow students. Heroine Violet comes from an illustrious military family, but she was never intended for this life. Her mother, General Sorrengail, makes the confounding decision to force Violet into the Riders Quadrant, understanding her petite, clever daughter (who suffers from what we’d know as Ehlers–Danlos syndrome, a disorder that renders her susceptible to breaks, sprains, and bruises) likely won’t survive.
Adding to the drama is the fact that Violet finds herself under the command of a brilliant, handsome, and ruthless third year student, Xaden Riorson. Xaden’s father Fen Riorson led a devastating rebellion in year’s past, which Violet’s mother helped quash. Xaden and his fellow “marked ones,” aka the surviving children of executed rebels, loathe Violet as they blame her mother for their families’ deaths. Violet, in turn, blames Fen Riorson for her beloved older brother Brennan’s death. Naturally, there is an instant, albeit frustrating, physical attraction between Xaden and Violet. (THIS IS A ROMANTACY BOOK, AFTER ALL!)
What people like about these books is the mix of world-building, drama, and steamy, steamy sex. There are dragons and battles, shocking deaths and wild reveals. All in all, it’s a juicy soap opera with a Dark Academia luster and incredibly intoxicating characters.
