Forget Xaden & Violet, This Is Fourth Wing's Biggest Casting Challenge

Published Oct 10, 2026, 2:30 PM EDT El is a Junior TV Features Editor for ScreenRant, with previous experience as The Mary Sue's UK and Weekend Editor. She holds a Bachelor's in International Media and Entertainment Management, as well as an MA and Ph.D. in Creative Writing. There is little she loves more than discussing her favorite TV shows with fellow fans. One day, she hopes to publish an original fantasy novel. Forget Xaden Riorson and Violet Sorrengail; Amazon's Fourth Wing TV adaptation has an even tougher casting challenge. Rebecca Yarros' Empyrean saga is one of the leading franchises in the ever-growing "romantasy" subgenre. Violet and Xaden's love story, as they transition from predetermined enemies — their parents share a deadly history — to passionate, earth-shattering soulmates, is a major part of the books' appeal. Finding actors who can capture Violet's quiet strength and burning tenacity and Xaden's deeply loyal, enduring spirit is crucial. It'll be impossible to please everyone, of course, but their chemistry could make or break the series. As much as Fourth Wing and its sequels, Iron Flame and Onyx Storm (there are two more books on the way), are romantasy novels, Yarros' war-driven series is also a dragon fantasy; Violet, Xaden, and their fellow cadets at Basgiath War College are part of the Riders Quadrant, bonded to the massive, powerful dragons of the Empyrean. The dragons allow their riders to channel powerful magic, from weather-altering signets to slithering shadows, advanced healing, and everything in between. Violet's two-dragon bond is a pivotal relationship in the series, a once-in-a-lifetime event that changes everything Navarre's scholars thought they knew about the dragons' habits. Yarros' dragon lore shares many similarities with Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern saga. The dragons can communicate directly with their riders. The dynamic between dragons and their chosen riders is integral to Fourth Wing's worldbuilding, and Amazon's adaptation needs to do it justice. The Dragons Are A Core Part Of Fourth Wing's Storytelling Violet and Xaden's dragons, Tairn, Andarna, and Sgaeyl, are key players in Fourth Wing's narrative. They have distinct personalities and relationships beyond those with their riders. Tairn and Sgaeyl are a mated pair, and Tairn looks after the young golden dragon Andarna as if she were his own offspring. Andarna is sweet, loyal, excitable, and stubborn. Tairn is wise, paternal, and sneakily funny. Sgaeyl is imposing and edgy, with a mean streak rooted in love. Their telepathic conversations with their riders are often the most crucial moments in the books, for character and narrative development. Choosing the right actors for their voices will be vital to making their bonds believable, and most importantly, creating an emotional anchor in the show beyond Violet and Xaden's romance. The chosen voice actors' performances need to suit and convey the dragons' personalities, have chemistry with each other, and a solid rapport with the actors cast as Xaden and Violet. The dragons are the most fantastical part of the story but also the most important. Getting their voices wrong would arguably have an even bigger impact on the show's success as an adaptation. They're integral to making the world feel rich and lived-in, and they only become more influential as the story develops. Will Amazon's Fourth Wing Adaptation Include More Dragon Voices Than The Books? The Empyrean books are primarily told from Violet's first-person perspective, with occasional Xaden-centric chapters (and one for Rhiannon and Imogen each at the end of Onyx Storm). That means the only three dragon voices readers know as intimately as Violet's or Xaden's are Tairn, Andarna, and, to a lesser extent, Sgaeyl. Only a bonded rider can communicate directly with their respective dragon. However, Rebecca Yarros' recently released short story collection, Threshing Day, showcases a dozen additional rider-dragon relationships. Each dynamic is unique and matches the characters' personalities. Ridoc's dragon, for instance, is just as humorous and mischievous as he is. Each dragon has bonded with their rider for personal reasons. They've taken sides in the rebellion conflict. There's a lot to explore there. Between the new POV chapters in Onyx Storm and the entirety of Threshing Day, it feels like Yarros is gearing up to introduce multiple new perspectives in the fourth and fifth Empyrean novels. Given the scale of the war in the Empyrean saga and the difficulty of sticking to one limited point of view in an extended, serialized TV adaptation, Prime Video's show might choose to treat the story as an ensemble drama. If so, the show could introduce the other dragons' voices directly following Violet's and her fellow cadets' Threshing experiences, much sooner than in the books. Amazon's Fourth Wing has the potential to become one of the decade's biggest fantasy shows. The more dragons, the better. Network Prime Video Showrunner Meredith Averill Directors Lisa Joy Creator(s) Meredith Averill, Rebecca Yarros