“Fourth Wing” fans finally have their Xaden Riorson.
Amazon Prime Video revealed on Thursday that Emilio Sakraya will play the male lead alongside Esther McGregor as Violet Sorrengail, the protagonist and narrator of the fantasy book series. They are the main characters of Rebecca Yarros’s “Fourth Wing” trilogy (which has two other books in progress), about magic-wielding dragon riders.
In the books, Xaden is described as a tall, dominant wing leader with dark, intimidating features who is highly revered by the rest of the Basgiath War College. He originally hates Violet because of past family drama, but it doesn’t take long for their strained relationship to turn into a steamy romance.
Sakraya, a 30-year-old German actor, has numerous credits to his name, including “Rhinegold,” Netflix’s “Tribes of Europa” and “Warrior Nun.” His other recent projects include “Those About to Die” and he is set to appear in “One Piece” season 3. In these roles, he gained experience playing rebel leaders and performing his own fight sequences and stunts. Aside from his TV and action-packed filmography, Sakraya is also a musician. As an electronic pop artist, he has over 300,000 monthly listeners on Spotify and has sold out tours across Europe.
While BookTok fans may not be familiar with Sakraya, they’re familiar with McGregor after his breakout role in “We Were Liars,” Amazon Prime’s hit 2025 adaptation of E’s novel of the same name. Lockhart. The 24-year-old actress also appeared alongside Nicole Kidman in Halina Reijn’s “Babygirl,” as well as Disney+’s “Obi-Wan Kenobi” (with her father Ewan McGregor) and Freevee’s “High School.” In the novels, Violet is described as a small, frail cadet with dark black hair subtly streaked with silver who requires much more practice and precision in dragon handling than her peers.
An official release date for the “Fourth Wing” adaptation has yet to be announced, but the casting of Violet and Xaden brings fans closer together. There are several other notable characters like Dain Aetos, Liam Mairi and Rhiannon Matthias who will surely be announced as production ramps up. Fans will have to wait and see if McGregor and Sakraya are up to the daunting task of capturing the brutal world of the Basgiath War College.
Gn entert
