Amazon isn’t leaving the fantasy genre behind, even as The Wheel of Time was cruelly cut down in its Prime (get it?) earlier this year. Instead, the streamer has tapped into one of publishing’s biggest recent hits: Rebecca Yarros’ romantasy novel Fourth Wing. The adaptation of Yarros’ Empyrean series has found new momentum with the hiring of Meredith Averill, co-creator of Locke & Key and producer on Netflix’s Wednesday, as its new showrunner, putting it back on track after Anne With an E creator Moira Walley-Beckett exited the role of showrunner in July.

Pulling its story straight from the pages of Yarros’ Empyrean books, Fourth Wing centers on Basgiath War College, a brutal military academy where the only way to pass is to survive. Candidates fight for a chance to become dragon riders, the most elite protectors of Navarre. At the heart of the story is Violet Sorrengail, a 20-year-old who expected to live a quiet life far from the battlefield. But when her commanding mother, a decorated General, orders her into Basgiath, Violet’s world changes overnight.

The “graduate or die” mantra forces Violet into a crucible of physical danger, political intrigue, and personal transformation. Where the films of the 2010s offered YA romances in dystopian settings, Fourth Wing builds on that tradition with a romantic fantasy bent — one that has already captured a massive following in book form.

The move comes at a pivotal time for Amazon. Earlier this year, The Wheel of Time was canceled after three seasons, despite its creative improvements and loyal fanbase who mourned the cancellation of the show like the death of a loved one. The series, which was based on Robert Jordan’s sprawling novels, was deemed too expensive to continue alongside Amazon’s other massive fantasy project, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, and given the price Amazon paid for the Tolkien tomes, it was always going to take priority to help Amazon get their money’s worth from it. Its Season 3 finale was designed to offer closure, but fans had been campaigning hard for a renewal.

That leaves Fourth Wing as the streamer’s next big swing in the genre. With its combination of deadly trials, dragon warfare, and sweeping romance, it has the potential to capture the same audience that propelled Yarros’ novels — Fourth Wing (2023), Iron Flame (2023), and Onyx Storm (2025) — to bestseller status. Two more books are still on the way, giving the adaptation plenty of material to explore, and plenty of time to get things moving.

Release Date

November 18, 2021

Network

Prime Video

Showrunner

Rafe Judkins

Directors

Sanaa Hamri, Ciaran Donnelly, Salli Richardson-Whitfield, Thomas Napper, Maja Vrvilo, Wayne Che Yip

Writers

Amanda Kate Shuman, Dave Hill, Rohit Kumar, Justine Juel Gillmer, Celine Song, Rammy Park, The Clarksons Twins, Katherine B. McKenna

Franchise(s)

The Wheel of Time

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