In my opinion, the best stories can be found inside the pages of a book. When you really think about it — pretty much all of our favorite franchises were book adaptations. If you don’t believe me, let’s go through a few:
The Marvel Universe — began as comics (just books with more pictures). The Hunger Games — adapted from the best dystopian series of all time. Twilight — the most successful vampire movie franchise ever made.
On the TV series side of things, we have the biggest fantasy show of all time, Game of Thrones, adapted from a massive book series. Then there is Bridgerton, which, despite being a Netflix original (no shade), took off and became the platform’s most-streamed series — adapted from Julia Quinn’s romance novels.
TV shows and movies based on books just have a leg up when it comes to their chances of success because they are taking an already lovable story and bringing it to the screen. But because of this, reading has become a bit difficult for me. I am at the point where I cannot read a good book without my mind beginning to dream of the possibility of seeing it on screen.
And for one book series — I know for a fact that I was not the only one dreaming of the day someone decided it was time to take it on. I am honestly just surprised it took as long as it did, because it is one of the most popular book series of the past decade. And yes, romantasy fans — I am talking about Fourth Wing.
The Books
For those who may have been living off the grid, so to speak, and have not heard of Rebecca Yarros’ epic fantasy series that took off after its release in May 2023 — do not worry, I would love to sum it up for you.
Fourth Wing is the first book in the Empyrean series, which currently has three released novels. It was originally planned as a trilogy, but Yarros decided halfway through that there was too much story to tell and expanded it into a pentalogy — five books in total.
The premise of the series revolves around a young woman named Violet Sorrengail, who is forced by her mother to attend a war college for dragon riders. While she is there, she goes through a series of trials and training to prepare her for something known as The Threshing — a Hunger Games-style scenario involving dragons, where the winners end up bonding with one.
If none of that sounds familiar, the name Xaden Riorson might ring a bell. With the series being known for its enemies-to-lovers romance, the male love interest — despite being a fictional character — has become more famous than some real-life famous people. So popular, in fact, that Alex Warren wore a shirt with his name on it at one of his concerts. You might also occasionally hear Xaden referred to as one of the “shadow daddies” in the romantasy and BookTok world.
The TV Series: What We Know So Far
In October 2023, months after the first novel became a global sensation and just ahead of the release of the second book, Prime Video announced that it had acquired the rights to the entire Empyrean series. Better than that, they announced that a TV series was being developed with the assistance of Michael B. Jordan’s production company.
Almost a year later, in summer 2024, Moira Walley-Beckett — a Breaking Bad writer — signed on as showrunner. Fans were excited that things seemed to be moving along. But then another entire year passed with no news, until summer 2025, when it was announced that Walley-Beckett had decided to exit the project.
Just as fans began to worry that their dream of seeing Xaden in live action was fading, Meredith Averill agreed to replace Walley-Beckett as showrunner a few months later. But it was not until May of this year that there was a formal announcement at Prime Video’s upfront presentation at the Beacon Theatre in New York. Michael B. Jordan stood alongside Yarros herself, Averill, and Lisa Joy — best known for her work on Westworld and the more recent Fallout series on Prime Video.
They brought out some pretty big names, saved this announcement for the end of the presentation, and the crowd was ready for something big. So what was actually said? To sum it up: Yarros expressed her excitement about working with the team, and everyone on stage wanted to reassure fans that it is really happening. And that was pretty much it. Nearly three years after the rights were acquired, the big news was essentially — we promise it is coming.
What We Still Do Not Know
Production appears to still be in the very early stages. And by early, I mean there is no expected release date, no verified cast, and certainly no trailer. So when will we actually get the first season — maybe in a couple of years, or maybe in five (let us cross our fingers it is the former).
The biggest question on most readers’ minds is the cast — and since there are no official announcements, fans have been doing what fans do best: investigating. The main question is who will play Xaden.
One significant clue is that Yarros has said she wants Xaden to be played by a person of color. At the top of the fan speculation list is Josh Heuston, an Australian actor best known for his roles in Off Campus and Dune: Prophecy. In several interviews, he has been asked directly whether he would be involved in the series, and he has neither confirmed nor denied it. He has also admitted to having read all the books and called it a great world — which is a very deliberate non-denial if you ask me.
from Amazon Video’s Official YouTube Channel
A few other names that have been circulating include Emilio Sakraya, Belmont Cameli, and Mason Gooding Jr. Jordan has reportedly said he wants the series cast with recognizable faces that are not too famous, and all of these options fit that description. They could all work for Xaden based on physical attributes alone — but honestly, the only one with eyebrows that could furrow the way we all imagined is Heuston.
For Violet, there have not been as many clues. But there are a few fan favorites worth mentioning: Katie Douglas from Netflix’s Ginny and Georgia, Mackenzie Foy, who played Renesmee in the Twilight franchise, and Hannah Dodd from Bridgerton. I think they could all work, but I am leaning toward Foy — she made a post featuring one of the books, and at this point, that is the best clue we have gotten.
For either role, I suppose we will have to wait an unknown amount of time to find out. As much as I hope production moves quickly, logically it is probably not going to land until 2028 or 2029. A cast still needs to be established, shooting has not started, and post-production for a show centered around dragons is going to take longer than usual.
Understandably, they want to make it perfect, and that will take time—but as Violet learned early on…
