Count your days, House of the Dragon—eventually, a new dragon-filled TV series will take over. Since its release in 2023, Rebecca Yarros's romantasy novel Fourth Wing has become an instant classic among the #BookTok-obsessed, with a legion of loyal fans who propelled it to the top of The New York Times Best Sellers List.
So, it's no surprise that a streamer is already hard at work bringing the fantasy book to life. In October 2023, Prime Video announced it had nabbed the rights to Yarros's entire Empyrean book series and that the streamer was developing a TV series with actor Michael B. Jordan’s production company, Outlier Society. As each new book from Yarros has come out, fans have been clamoring for any news on the highly anticipated book-to-series adaptation. Below, we're keeping track of everything we know about the Fourth Wing TV show.
When will the 'Fourth Wing' TV series be released?
It's still anyone's guess when Fourth Wing will premiere. However, it seems the show is finally amping up for production. After nearly two and a half years in development, during Prime Video's upfront presentations to advertisers in May 2026, the streamer confirmed it had given a series order to Fourth Wing. Michael B. Jordan, whose production vehicle Outlier Society is behind the adaptation, made the announcement, alongside Yarros, executive producer/showrunner Meredith Averill, and Lisa Joy, who is among the executive producers and will direct the first episode, per Deadline.
It's a good sign that the show was ordered to series. If only a pilot had been ordered, it's possible that it wouldn't have made it to the air. This is the first major update about the show's development that fans have received in quite some time, so signs point to the project finally getting off the ground.
It'll certainly take a while to cast the show and move into filming, but with the behind-the-scenes team confirmed (more on that below!) and the scripts presumably being written, it shouldn't be much longer. With that in mind, we bet episodes could premiere in 2028 at the earliest.
Who is involved behind the scenes of the 'Fourth Wing' TV Show?
Meredith Averill will lead the adaptation as the showrunner. Her involvement was confirmed in September 2025 after the show experienced a behind-the-scenes shakeup in July when the original showrunner, Moira Walley-Beckett, left the production. It should be in good hands, though: Averil is a longtime TV producer, best known for executive producing Wednesday season 2 and The Haunting of Hill House, as well as co-developing and co-showrunning Locke and Key, based on another beloved YA series.
The news that she came on board was reported several months after a report revealed Walley-Beckker (who created Anne With an "E" and was among the writers/producers on Breaking Bad) had exited the series. It's unclear what happened, but Amazon MGM Studios was supposedly hunting for a replacement to keep production moving at the time.
As stated, Michael B. Jordan's Outlier Society is also on board, along with Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy's Kilter Films and Premeditated Productions. When confirming the show's series order and that Joy would direct the first episode, Jordan described her as "the right creative partner," ensuring that they're "building a cinematic world...to deliver the series this fandom deserves."
Yarros herself is among the executive producers and has stressed how pleased she is with the entire behind-the-scenes team. At the upfront event, the author said, "These are the people who understand that a story means to its readers, and they’re passionate about the book, which is why I trust them completely."
Jordan himself has also spoken about how much care is going into the series. While speaking with Deadline in a January 2026 interview, he shared, "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."
The Oscar-winning Sinners star continued. "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."
Who has been cast in the 'Fourth Wing' TV show?
Prime Video has not announced any cast members for the upcoming series, as the show is still in pre-production. However, there has been plenty of discourse around casting, as passionate readers make their case for who should play 20-year-old heroine Violet Sorrengail and her love interest, Xaden Riorson.
Though no one is attached, Yarros has confirmed that Xaden will be played by a person of color. (The dragon rider is described in the books as having "warm tawny skin," but some fan art has depicted him as white.) Speaking to Variety in November 2023, the author said, "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."
In a February 2026 interview with the BBC, Michael B. Jordan also revealed that there won't be any "obvious choices" when it comes to the casting. He explained that the production team is interested in a mix of up-and-comers and well-known stars, saying, "When it's done the right way, I think you can have a nice balance where casting won't be distracting."
He added, "It allows people to, like, fall in love with the characters that they have imagined in their head without any baggage, with projecting their own feelings on certain casts."
As for whether the A-lister will appear in the show himself, he's remained tight-lipped. He definitely hasn't denied it, though. While speaking to the BBC, when they asked if he would have a part, he reportedly repeated, "I don't know." Here's to hoping he takes on at least a minor role!
Even though nothing is confirmed, the rumor mill is definitely swirling. Fans have rampantly speculated that Australian star Josh Heuston is set to play either Xaden or Bodhi, his younger cousin, especially since he's been spotted reading the Empyrean series on multiple occasions.
The actor (who is of Anglo-Sri Lankan descent and known for roles in The Last of Us, Dune: Prophecy, the Aussie teen hit Heartbreak High, and Prime Video's own Off Campus) has (vaguely) weighed in on the rumors. For example, when Bravo Australia asked if they could call him Xaden on a red carpet while promoting The Last of Us season 2, he bashfully responded, "You have to ask the scribes, I suppose."
As the reporter joked that she would continue calling him Xaden, Heuston, 29, responded, "Interesting, yeah, that's a great nickname."
"It really suits you," Bravo Australia added, while he said, "I hope so."
Similarly, in a recent April 2026 interview with Maire Claire Australia, he didn't confirm or deny his involvement—but he did emphasize that he's a fan. "I think it’s a great world, the books are great, I’ve read them all now," he said. While he reportedly played it cool when the outlet asked if he might be playing Xaden or Bodhi, he did say, "I think they’re both good characters, they have their own signs and signets."
Perhaps an official casting announcement in the coming months will help clarify things. In the meantime, we can keep fan-casting. (If you're curious what other readers have been saying, many do love Heuston, especially for Bodhi, as well as Emilio Sakraya, and Mackenzie Foy is often mentioned for Violet.)
What is the plot of 'Fourth Wing?'
For those of you who have yet to dive into the wonderful world of romantasy, The Empyrean series takes place in a world where dragons exist, and there's an entire college where people learn how to ride them. In the first book, new student Violet is forced by her mother, the commanding general of Basgiath War College, to train as a dragon rider, even though Violet lives with a chronic illness similar to Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (which Yarros has in real life). The chance of being rejected/incinerated by a dragon (think Vermithor and the failed dragonseeds in HotD season 2) isn't the only danger; the school is so cutthroat, with not enough dragons for all aspiring riders, that one of her classmates may kill her instead.
Fourth Wing follows Violet as she enters the school and undergoes initial dragon rider training, all the while encountering more enemies than friends. As with any good YA franchise, there are hints of a world-threatening conflict looming that Violet will have to deal with in the future. There's also the requisite super-hot guy who can't help but be interested in her: a third-year rider and elite student named Xaden Riorson. There's even a Romeo and Juliet storyline going on: Xaden's father was executed by Violet's mother after the same failed rebellion that killed Violet's brother.
We'll stop the summary there to avoid spoilers, but Fourth Wing is the first of a planned five-book series. Its follow-up, Iron Flame, was published in November 2023, just six months after its predecessor. The third novel, Onyx Storm, had its record-breaking release in January 2025. The fourth and fifth books do not currently have release dates.
What has Rebecca Yarros said about the 'Fourth Wing' TV show so far?
During her press tours for the January 2025 release of Onyx Storm, Yarros dropped a few more hints that the Fourth Wing TV series's progress was chugging along. In an interview with Variety, the author revealed that she has given the show's team "the five-book arc" for the entire Empyrean series.
She explained, "They have the five-book arc and the general big points of what happens in between each book, but they don’t have the specifics between Book 4 and Book 5, because I’m getting ready to go to my crazy plotting board and plot out every single event that happens in each book, so that I make sure that I’m within my two books there. But they have general ideas."
Yarros also revealed that she has read "a couple versions" of the Fourth Wing pilot and praised the original showrunner, Moira Walley-Beckett, for "[handling] the book with such respect and such zeal."
"It really is phenomenal," she said of the pilot. "I was kicking my feet the entire time I read it. Really, just no notes. I think it’s always scary to give your book baby to a person and say, 'Hey, tell me what you think is important.' But she nailed it, and she gets it."
It's unclear whether the pilot Walley-Beckett wrote will move forward, now that she's no longer attached, so we'll have to wait and see. In the meantime, hang tight; we'll keep updating this story as more information becomes available.
For now, you can buy the Empyrean series (Fourth Wing, Iron Flame, and Onyx Storm) on Bookshop.
