Prime Video‘s upcoming dragon series is a fantasy project that could become one of the best dragon series of all time, and it faces a major challenge. Dragons are creatures that often appear in high fantasy books, shows, movies, and more. It makes sense, as these stories are all about exploring wondrous new worlds filled with creatures that we don’t see walking around in real life.
Looking at the best fantasy shows in recent years, it is easy to see that audiences respond well to dragons. HBO’s Game of Thrones franchise, the genre’s biggest in terms of TV shows, thrived with its portrayal of dragons in live-action. First, Emilia Clarke’s Daenerys Targaryen went on a journey to mature her dragons, then House of the Dragon brought several fire-breathing beasts to the small screen.
Prime Video’s fantasy shows, thus far, have been pretty tame in terms of dragons aside from the animated The Legend of Vox Machina. Thankfully, subscribers should not have to wait too long to get one of the biggest dragon shows ever, as Prime Video has put in development a high fantasy series adapting a beloved book series.
The show in question is Fourth Wing, which will adapt Rebecca Yarros’ Empyrean novels. At the time of writing, not much has been revealed about what the live-action dragon series will entail. That said, it is clear that for the Prime Video fantasy series to be successful, it will have to face a major challenge.
Prime Video’s Fourth Wing Series Has To Live Up To A Beloved Franchise
Much like how the Game of Thrones franchise has had to adapt George R. R. Martin’s novels to divisive results, as the original fantasy series started on the right foot and was derailed after the source material was surpassed, while House of the Dragon chose to deviate from the books for certain events, Prime Video’s Fourth Wing will inevitably be judged by how it lives up to Yarros’ Empyrean novels. The bar for the show is set high. On Goodreads, Fourth Wing currently stands at a high 4.56 score based on nearly 4 million ratings.
For comparison, none of Martin’s individual Game of Thrones novels — from the A Song of Ice and Fire franchise — rank higher than Yarros’ Fourth Wing on the platform. The fantasy franchise’s highest-rated book is A Storm of Swords, coming in close at 4.55 with 860 thousand ratings. It is easy to see that Fourth Wing is not just another novel, but one of the fantasy genre’s most beloved releases. The series’ exciting elements include its depiction of a world filled with dragons and a unique bond between dragon riders and their beasts, which gives them magic abilities. That needs to look good in live-action.
How Prime Video’s Fourth Wing Series Shows Signs That It Will Succeed
Ahead of Prime Video’s Fourth Wing series, the first signs that the upcoming fantasy show will be a success come from the creatives involved. Moira Walley-Beckett will serve as the showrunner of Prime Video’s Fourth Wing, and her credentials include being the creator of Anne with an E and the writer of multiple episodes of Breaking Bad. Among its executive producers, Fourth Wing has united names like the Best Actor Oscar winner Michael B. Jordan and the co-creators of HBO’s Westworld, Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan. Joy will also direct the first episode of the upcoming fantasy series.
Now, it stands to be seen if all that talent behind the scenes will be matched by the right casting choices for important Fourth Wing characters like Violet Sorrengail, Xaden Riorson, Dain Aetos, and more. That said, given the track record of the show’s executive producers, I feel confident that Fourth Wing will rise to meet its challenge and become one of the best high fantasy series on streaming, and I can’t wait for the first look at the dragons.
- Network
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Prime Video
- Showrunner
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Meredith Averill
- Directors
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Lisa Joy
