Now that we’ve learned Prime Video has bought the rights to Rebecca Yarros’ bestselling fantasy books, all we can think about (and talk about in our group chats) is the Fourth Wing cast, like who should play Violet Sorrengail and Xaden Riorson.
Related: We dream cast the ACOTAR TV series, too
On October 30, 2023, Variety reported that Amazon MGM Studios was working on a TV adaptation of Yarros’ series, ambitiously acquiring the rights to not only Fourth Wing, but its follow-up Iron Flame, and the three remaining planned books in Yarros’ Empyrean book series. Yarros serves as a non-writing executive producer alongside Liz Pelletier for Entangled Publishing.
When it comes to the Fourth Wing cast, Yarros told Variety that she didn’t mind whether they were established actors or up-and-coming. “I honestly don’t have an opinion on it. I’ve never done this before, so I don’t have an opinion on if they should be established or if they shouldn’t, or what attention that brings, because I’m out of my depth of knowledge here,” she said.
“I’m going to trust that they bring in the right people when they start casting. And then I’m gonna hope that they fit who’s described in the book, and I think we’ll know when we know. But I honestly don’t have a preference, just whoever can fit the character.”
Fourth Wing cast
Violet Sorrengail (Freya Allan)
Image Credit: Photo by Alan Chapman/Dave Benett/Getty Images In Fourth Wing, our protagonist Violet is described as having “pale skin, pale eyes and pale hair” due to an illness her mother, Lilith, caught during pregnancy. Due to an unnamed physical condition, she views herself as frail and physically weak, though she makes up for it in mental strength tenfold. We have to assume she’s on the shorter side, around 5’2″ or 5’3″ based on Xaden’s comments.
Freya Allan would be perfect for the role of Violet. She’s got experience with the fantasy genre as Ciri from The Witcher and she’s pretty age-appropriate (Violet’s said to be around 20, Allan is around 22 at the time of writing). Her delicate facial features lend well to a character like Violet, and while she might be a little taller at 5’5″, we think she’d ace this role. Honorable mention goes to Sadie Sink.
Xaden Riorson (Mena Massoud)
Image Credit: Photo by Leon Bennett/Getty Images In an interview with Variety, Yarros said that contrary to a lot of fan art, Xaden is not white. “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 posts, which I think probably got me some flack, 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,” she said.
In the books, Xaden is—rather thirstily—described 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 … His eyes are the shade of gold-flecked onyx.”
Physically, we can’t think of a better option than Mena Massoud, an Egyptian-born, Canadian-raised actor who got his big break in the live-action remake of Aladdin. He’s got prince energy for sure, but he served up some darker, brooding ability in Hulu’s Reprisal.
Of course, the top choice for a lot of fans is Red, White & Royal Blue star Taylor Zakhar Perez. Yes, he’s super hot, but we feel like he might be a little old for this role.
Tairn (Idris Elba)
Image Credit: Photo by Doug Peters/Variety via Getty Images For one of Violet’s two dragons, the most popular choice for Tairn is Idris Elba, whose deep, dulcet tones would be perfect. In terms of a body of work, Elba has done extensive voice work with Knuckles in the Sonic universe, as well as wise authoritative figures like Heimdall in the MCU.
An honorable mention goes to Christopher Judge, who played Teal’c in Stargate, but may be better known for his role as Kratos in the God of War video game series.
Sgaeyl (Amy Adams)
Image Credit: Photo by Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic Amy Adams has a soothing, yet authoritative voice that would be perfect for Xaden’s dragon Sgaeyl. This character has a little bit of attitude, which Adams can serve up, but we also believe that ultimately Sgaeyl has a good heart.
Andarna (Anna Kendrick)
Image Credit: Photo by JC Olivera/GA/The Hollywood Reporter via Getty Images For Violet’s second bonded dragon, we thought Anna Kendrick’s innocent, and higher-pitched voice would be perfect for Andarna because she’ll need to adapt her voice to suit a younger, then more mature, winged beast. Kendrick has done voice work before as Poppy in Trolls, as well as Stacey Pilgrim in Scott Pilgrim Takes Off.
Liam Mairi (Lucas Till)
Image Credit: Photo credit should read NICK AGRO/AFP via Getty Images Liam is described as a tall man with spiky blonde hair, strong features, and prominent dimples when he smiles. As far as physical similarities, we can see that in droves with Lucas Till, who audiences may know from Walk The Line and the reboot of Macgyver. Liam is a loveable character—loyal, charming, with a good sense of humor. We can see Lucas taking on this role with gusto.
Rhiannon Matthias (Tati Gabrielle)
Image Credit: Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images Rhiannon Matthias is a second-year rider and Violet’s best friend. She’s described in Fourth Wing as having “dark brown hair”, “worn in several rows of short braids that just touch the equally dark skin of her neck.”
From a personality perspective, she’s fiercely loyal, a hardened fighter, and not someone you want to mess with—so Tati Gabrielle’s work in Unchartered and The 100 mean she’s no stranger to action sequences, of which there are quite a few as a cadet of Basgiath War College.
Dain Aetos (Charlie Rowe)
Image Credit: Photo by Joshua Sammer/Getty Images for ZFF For Violet’s childhood, over-protective friend Dain Aetos, British actor Charlie Rowe gives off that boy-next-door-who-could-still-kick-your-ass vibes. However, he could still turn into a villain in later installments of the books due to his distrust of Xaden. Balancing this with his unrequited romantic affection for Vi, Rowe’s experience in portraying nuanced characters could make him a great fit for the role of Dain.
Jack Barlowe (Alexander Ludwig)
Image Credit: Getty Images For the ruthless, blood-thirsty, and competitive Jack Barlowe, no one other than actor Alexander Ludwig came to mind because of his role as Cato in The Hunger Games. This is actually who we visualized when reading the book.
General Lilith Sorrengail (Famke Janssen)
Image Credit: Photo by Taylor Hill/FilmMagic Violet’s mother General Lilith Sorrengail is stern, tough as nails, and has no qualms about making the ultimate sacrifice to save her children. Dutch actor Famke Janssen would be perfectly suited to this role. You’d know her as Dr. Jean Grey in the X-Men movie franchise, as well as the main villain Muriel in Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters.
Honorable mention goes to Lena Headey because she would SERVE as the General.
Mira Sorrengail (Daisy Ridley)
Image Credit: Photo by: Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty Images Look, Daisy Ridley is probably too big a star for the supporting role of Mira Sorrengail, Violet’s sister, but this is a dream casting so we feel like we can let our imaginations run wild. Is there really anything more to say about this? Ridley is experienced with fight scenes thanks to Star Wars and Rey carries herself with a lot of conviction in the same way Mira does.
Ridoc Gamlyn (Christopher Meyer)
We can’t take credit for this one, but after we saw @msmorganmelton’s TikTok about her Fourth Wing dream cast, we couldn’t agree more on Christopher Meyer as Ridoc Gamlyn. The character is described as solidly built and often supplies comic relief. For Meyer’s acting resume to include The Sex Lives of College Girls and Wayward Pines, he can clearly straddle both serious and more comedic roles.
Imogen Cardulo (Mia Goth)
Image Credit: Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images Imogen Cardulo is a third-year rider at Basgiath War College, a member of the rebellion, and president of the Anti-Violence Club. She is also friends with Xaden and a member of Fourth Wing, Flame Section, Second Squad. For Imogen, Mia Goth’s versatility could be a real asset.
