Recently over my winter break, I explored the magnificent fantasy world of Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros. To sum up this book, it is as if Divergent, Throne of Glass, and the Harry Potter series all had a baby! There are around 500 pages full of magic, dragons, all taking place in a college setting. Coming from a reader who has never fully favorited fantasy books, this story felt unlike anything I’ve ever read before. It follows the story of a young woman named Violet who is forced to enter the dragon-rider’s quadrant upon entering her first year at Basgiath college, where she has to out-smart everyone to survive a series of challenges. Not only that, but there is also a gripping enemies-to-lovers sublot with her greatest rival and wing leader– Xaden Riorson– which creates the most electrifying tension between the characters and will have you flipping the pages in excitement to see what will happen.
Recently, it has been announced by Yarros that a TV show adaptation for Fourth Wing is beginning to undergo production under Amazon MGM Studios. Because the project is still so new, there has yet to be an official cast announcement which is why I have some suggestions in an attempt to build my ultimate dream Fourth Wing fancast!
To start off, I would cast the role of Violet Sorrengail to Sabrina Carpenter purely because they have that similar “tiny but mighty” energy. In the book, Violet is described to be very small with long, beautiful hair and bright eyes. Although Sabrina doesn’t have brunette and silver stranded hair like Violet, I think she would look fantastic with the darker hair and embody the perfect dragon rider.
Next off, playing everyone’s tall, handsome, and mysterious fantasy boyfriend– Bob Morley is the actor I perfectly envision playing Xaden Riorson. This decision was mostly inspired by Morely’s role as Bellamy Blake in Netflix’s The 100 because he has already proved himself to work really well in dystopian television shows. Not only that, but he mirrors the similar rugged and edgy look that makes Xaden attractive in Fourth Wing.
When it comes to the side characters of the novel, there seems to be a lot of fantastic actors in Hollywood at the moment. Florence Pugh would play a killer Mira, who is Violet’s fierce older sister, because she has the same short blond hair and has recently played roles in major action-packed films like Oppenheimer and Dune. Similarly, I think Zendeya should play the role of Rhiannon, Violet’s best friend at Basgiath because she has the same dark-skinned complexion that Rhi is known for, as well as holding recent experience in the fantasy-film world by playing Chani in Dune alongside Florence Pugh.
In my opinion, Dylan O’Brien would make the perfect Dain Aetos– Violet’s childhood best friend– because he’s truly a lovable actor who everyone adores, just like Dain at the beginning of Fourth Wing. However, what would really make him stand out is the shift towards the end of Fourth Wing, where everyone including Violet realizes just how troubled Dain really is. I feel like nobody has ever seen Dylan O’Brien play the bad guy in his entire career and this casting opportunity would really expand his dynamic as an actor.