Fourth Wing Author Rebecca Yarros Shares Her One Casting Demand for TV Show
Rebecca Yarros is riding hard for one particular casting choice.
With the author's book Fourth Wing—the first in her Empyrean series—currently being adapted into a television series by Amazon MGM Studios and Michael B. Jordan's Outlier Society, Rebecca revealed that while she doesn't have a ton of say into who ends up being cast on the show, she does have one major stipulation.
"They know how staunch I am against whitewashing Xaden," Rebecca told the crowd at a recent Q&A. "And so I think that's the biggest thing."
In the books—which follows Violet Sorrengail as she joins the "graduate or die" Rider Quadrant at Navarre's Basgiath War College and competes to the death to become a dragon rider—Xaden Riorson is described as by Violet as tall "with windblown black hair and dark brows. The line of his jaw is strong and covered by warm tawny skin and dark stubble."
But as to who Rebecca might have in mind for the role? She was less inclined to share her personal fan cast for the adaption, especially because "the cast is so diverse." And she's hoping they open it up "to more diversity."
"The second I say who I think this character is," she explained, "that's who everyone will accept, and only who they will accept. And I kind of hope they find an up and coming generation."
She added, "I would never put my fan cast in your heads."
Amazon's adaption of the BookTok favorite was first announced in November and although no cast or release date has been announced, Moira Walley Beckett was recently named as its showrunner.
The Emmy-winning Breaking Bad producer shared how elated she was to be working on the show, writing on Instagram in July, "I am SO EXCITED to be adapting brilliant @rebeccayarros FOURTH WING into series! Thank you to Amazon MGM Studios and Michael B. Jordan's Outlier Society for trusting me to bring this incredible book series to life!"
And fans have even more to look forward to, as Amazon has also acquired the rights to Fourth Wing's sequel Iron Flame and the upcoming third book Onyx Storm (out Jan. 21, 2025), as well as the rest of the planned novels in the five-part Empyrean series.
With Fourth Wing on the horizon, keep reading for more book to screen adaptations you should be obsessing over.
Based on: The Gods of Guilt, the fifth novel in Michael Connolly’s Lincoln Lawyer series
Starring: Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Becki Newton, Jazz Raycole, Angus Sampson, and Yaya DaCosta
Premieres: October 17 on Netflix
Why We’re Excited: You’ve heard of digital nomads but, really, Mickey Haller and his traveling office is the blueprint. Now in its third season at Netflix, The Lincoln Lawyer continues to be a fun, twisty time and Garcia-Rulfo may just have Matthew McConaughey beat as the most charming iterations of the titular attorney come to life on screen.
Based on: Claire Keegan’s 2021 novel of the same name
Starring: Cillian Murphy, Michelle Fairley and Emily Watson
Premieres: November 8
Why We’re Excited: In his first role since picking up an Oscar for Oppenheimer, Murphy returns to his indie roots in a quiet, devastating ‘80s-set drama about Ireland’s infamous Magdalene Laundries.
Based On: Heartstopper, Volume 3 by Alice Osman
Starring: Joe Locke, Kit Connor, William Gao, Yasmin Finney, Corinna Brown, Kizzy Edgell and Tobie Donovan
Premieres: October 3
Why We’re Excited: As season two ended with Charlie about to say three important words to Nick, the next installment picks up with their relationship growing and changing along with them. Prepare for more adorable doodles—a sweet nod to the graphic novels—but also heartfelt conversations about mental health, love and teenage growing pains.
Based On: The Broadway play of the same name and Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum, Ethan Slater, Marissa Bode, Peter Dinklage, Bowen Yang, and Keala Settle
Premieres: Part 1: November 22, 2024; Part 2: November 21, 2025
Why We’re Excited: Look no further than the cast list, for starters. Add in that it’s the iconic Broadway musical—based, of course, off the Wizard Of Oz prequel tome—split into two rousing parts and we are booked and busy for the next two Thanksgiving weekends.
Based On: the 2021 novel of the same name by Rachel Yoder
Starring: Amy Adams, Scoot McNairy, Ella Thomas, Mary Holland, and Zoe Chao
Premieres: December 6
Why We're Excited: Adams is a stay-at-home mom who thinks she’s turning into a dog. Need we say more? Well, the psychological comedy horror of it all deepens as her husband, often traveling for work, dismisses her fears leading her to turn to a group of fellow moms who are involved in both MLMs and something possibly more sinister.
Based on: Robert Littell’s 1981 book
Starring: Rami Malek, Rachel Brosnahan, Laurence Fishburne and Caitríona Balfe
Premieres: April 11, 2025
Why We’re excited: Two words: Espionage thriller. It’s time for Jack Reacher, Jack Ryan, Ethan Hunt and Jason Bourne to step aside to give Charles Heller—a CIA cryptographer looking to take revenge on the terrorists who killed his wife—his time in the spotlight.
Based On: We’ll Always Have Summer by Jenny Han
Starring: Lola Tung, Christopher Briney, Gavin Casalegno, Sean Kaufman, and Rain Spencer
Premieres: Summer 2025 on Prime Video
Why We’re Excited: After spending Summer 2024 away from Cousins, viewers are clamoring for another trip to check in on the ever-evolving love triangle between Belly Conklin and brothers Conrad and Jeremiah Fisher. While Team Jeremiah is currently feeling the love, the 11-episode third installment may just reveal which Fisher brother is Belly’s end game.
Based On: The 2022 novel Mickey 7 by Edward Ashton
Starring: Robert Pattinson, Steven Yeun, Toni Collette, Naomi Ackie and Mark Ruffalo
Premieres: January 31, 2025
Why We’re Excited: R-Patz is at his best when he’s able to get a little weird. and Bong Joon Ho’s adaptation is promising all that and at least 18 iterations of the Twilight star as he plays a space colonist who is sent on missions guaranteed to kill him—but whose body regenerates every time he dies. Except for one time where one of his alter egos inexplicably survives and returns to meet the latest version of himself.
Based On: Patricia Cornwell's mega-popular series of the same name that has 26 books in total
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Jamie Lee Curtis, Ariana DeBose, Bobby Cannavale, Simon Baker and Jake Cannavale
Premieres: TBD on Amazon Prime Video
Why We're Excited: If it's based on a book and Kidman stars in it, we will binge the s--t out of it. (See: Big Little Lies, Nine Perfect Strangers, The Undoing and the fact that this is her second appearance on this list.) Add in that the Oscar winners will be playing crime-fighting sisters and it's already become our favorite new show of the year.
Based On: Mary Shelley’s iconic 1818 gothic horror
Starring: Jacob Elordi, Oscar Isaac, Mia Goth and Christoph Waltz
Premieres: TBD on Netflix
Why we’re excited: Knowing Isaac is starring as Victor Frankenstein and Elordi will play the monster himself is enough to have us seated already. Still, while there have been countless works based on the iconic novel, Guillermo Del Toro—whose vision will come to life at Netflix after nearly two decades—has proven time and time again that when it comes to gothic horror, nobody does it better.
Based On: The 2021 Emily Henry novel of the same name
Starring: Tom Blyth, Emily Bader, Lucian Laviscount, Jameela Jamil, Lukas Gage and Sarah Catherine Hook
Premieres: TBD on Netflix
Why We’re Excited: Henry has already taken women’s literature by storm in recent years, so it was only a matter of time before her novels got the big screen treatment. And after major turns in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and My Lady Jane, respectively, Blyth and Bader have proven they may just be the perfect Alex and Poppy.
Based On: Ruth Ware’s 2016 novel of the same name
Starring: Keira Knightley, Guy Pierce, Hannah Waddingham, Daniel Ings, Kaya Scodelario, David Adala and Gugu Mbatha-Raw
Premieres: TBD on Netflix
Why We’re Excited: Being trapped on a cruise is already a nightmare for many but imagine witnessing someone get tossed overboard—only to not be taken seriously when trying to raise the alarm. That and a whole lot of danger is what Knightley is facing in the Netflix adaptation of one of Ware’s earlier thrillers.
Based On: An Offer From A Gentleman
Starring: Luke Thompson, Yerin Ha, Jonathan Bailey, Claudia Jessie, Nicola Coughlan, Luke Newton, Adjoa Andoh, Ruth Gemmell, Katie Leung, Michelle Mao and Isabella Wei.
Release Date: TBD on Netflix
Why We’re Excited: After three seasons trying to cement a place in his family and discovering himself, fan-favorite Benedict Bridgerton at last finds love in the upcoming installment. And newcomer Ha is joining the Netflix hit’s ever-growing ensemble as his love interest Sophie Baek.
Based on: Alice Feeney’s 2020 Novel
Starring: Tessa Thompson, Jon Bernthal, Pablo Schreiber, Crystal Fox, Sunita Mani, and Rebecca Rittenhouse
Premieres: TBD on Netflix
Why We’re Excited: A twisty thriller that brings a recluse back to their hometown is always an immediate yes, and in this limited series, it’s Thompson’s Anna whose return following a murder captivates a local detective (new Emmy winner Bernthal) who is also investigating the crime.
Based On: Suzanne Collins’ forthcoming book of the same name
Starring: TBD
Premieres: November 20, 2026
Why We’re Excited: On the same day Collins’ latest trip to Panem was announced (the book will drop in March 2025), Lionsgate confirmed it would be adapting the much-anticipated story following a young Haymitch Abernathy—Peeta and Katniss’ famously haunted mentor in the 74th Hunger Games—during his winning battle in the 50th Games.
Based on: Emily Brontë’s 1847 novel
Release Date: TBD
Starring: Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie
Why We’re Excited: Cue the Kate Bush classic, we’re heading back to the moors. Filmmaker Emerald Fennell is reteaming with her Saltburn collaborators—Elordi starred and Robbie produced—for a take on Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff that we’ve surely never seen before.
Based On: Andy Weir’s 2021 novel of the same name
Starring: Ryan Gosling, Sandra Hüller and Milana Vayntrub
Release Date: March 20, 2026
Why We’re Excited: Sure, Gosling’s been to space as the first man, but his latest mission takes him out of this galaxy as he wakes up from a coma as the sole survivor in an expedition to the Tau Ceti solar system—a cool 12 light-years away from Earth. Things only get worse now that he’s solo and must continue his mission to reverse solar dimming and save humanity from extinction. NBD!
Based on: Rufi Thorpe’s 2024 novel
Starring: Elle Fanning, Michelle Pfeiffer and Nicole Kidman
Premieres: TBD on Apple TV+
Why we’re Excited: Is it really a limited series if it doesn’t have Kidman popping up in it? Thorpe’s book—following the daughter of a former Hooters waitress and a onetime pro-wrestler who turns to OnlyFans after becoming a single mom at 20—is already excellent on its own. But this casting has certainly placed this eight-episode series at the top of the must-watch list.
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