Joe Pugliese, Kurt Iswarienko
What To Know
- Esther McGregor and Emilio Sakraya have been officially cast as Violet and Xaden in Prime Video’s adaptation of Rebecca Yarros’ romantasy novel Fourth Wing.
- Both actors expressed excitement about their roles.
- Sakraya referenced a fan-favorite book scene.
Our Violet and Xaden have spoken! Esther McGregor and Emilio Sakraya are officially saddling up for Prime Video’s adaptation of Rebecca Yarros‘ enormously popular romantasy novel, Fourth Wing, and their reactions to the casting confirmation could not be more perfect.
On October 21, the streamer officially revealed that the two actors would be playing the dragon-riding couple, days after Deadline first reported their involvement. McGregor, the 24-year-old daughter of Ewan McGregor and star of Prime Video’s We Were Liars, was the first to respond to the news.
“So beyond excited. Honored. Thrilled,” McGregor wrote on her Instagram Story minutes after the announcement, adding lightning, dragon, and heart emojis. In Fourth Wing, 20-year-old Violet is a first-year cadet at Basgiath War College, undergoing deadly training to ride a dragon and fight on behalf of her kingdom. As she navigates her new world, she obtains the power to wield lightning — hence McGregor’s emoji choices.
Emilio Sakraya / Instagram
There’s also the heart, of course, since Fourth Wing is a romance. Xaden is the established wingleader of the quadrant and son of a late rebel leader. At the start, Xaden hates Violet, the daughter of the kingdom’s war general, though they fall in love and have a relationship over the course of the book and its following two installments, Iron Flame and Onyx Storm.
Sakraya, a 30-year-old German actor best known for Netflix’s Warrior Nun, referenced a fan-favorite book scene in reaction to the casting announcement: “My house. My chair. My woman,” he wrote on his Instagram Story. Sakraya has obviously read ahead in Yarros’ Empyrean series, because Xaden famously says that line in Iron Flame’s hottest scene. (Warning: Fourth Wing spoilers ahead!)
When Violet departs Basgiath upon learning about her kingdom’s corruption, she joins Xaden’s team of rebels at his family home in Tyrrendor. Part of that group is Xaden’s ex, and Xaden reassures a jealous, insecure Violet that she has nothing to worry about. He places her on his family’s throne and worships her like a queen. Cue the famous six-word line.
Yarros herself has expressed her approval of the Fourth Wing casting, too. “I’m so grateful to our producing and casting team for conducting a thorough, worldwide search to find Violet and Xaden,” the author said in a statement. “It will be incredibly exciting to see these talented actors, Esther and Emilio, bring our beloved characters to life on screen.”
Fourth Wing, Season 1, TBA, Prime Video