Prime Video has an upcoming fantasy epic that will undoubtedly beat Game of Thrones in one way. Based on George R.R. Martin’s bestselling book series, Game of Thrones is one of the best fantasy shows of all time and completely changed the genre forever.
Since Game of Thrones came out on HBO, virtually every high fantasy show, from Wheel of Time to The Witcher, has been compared to the show. I can only imagine that Game of Thrones will remain the standard against which every fantasy show is measured, especially since the on-screen franchise has continued to grow.
However, the series isn’t without its flaws. There is certainly room for other high fantasy series to outshine the seminal TV show in various ways. One of the most exciting upcoming fantasy shows based on books will beat out Game of Thrones in one way.
Prime Video’s Fourth Wing Is The Most Exciting Fantasy Adaptation Since Game Of Thrones
Fantasy adaptations have been pretty hit or miss since Game of Thrones. However, Fourth Wing already looks like it could be the most successful fantasy book adaptation since GoT. The viral romantasy book series, written by Rebecca Yarros, follows a scribe named Violet Sorrengail who is forced to join the deadly Basgaith War College to become a dragon rider.
Fourth Wing has many elements necessary to be a great fantasy TV show. The story includes dragons, political intrigue, forbidden romances, emotional betrayals, and a high-stakes plot. Since the books are targeted towards adults, not children or teens, there’s no shortage of graphic violence and sex. This makes it more similar to Game of Thrones than many fantasy adaptations.
The world-building of Navarre, Poromiel, and the broader Continent is also expansive. Even if the book provided this through a little too much infodumping, it’s an excellent foundation for the TV show
The big, winged creatures aren’t just fire-breathing props in the story. They’re all smart and cunning, with different colored dragons in Fourth Wing possessing distinct personality traits. They also share a psychic link with their human counterparts, which makes the story more dynamic. As expected, they’re also deadly, adding danger to Violet’s journey.
While they were simpler at the start of The Fourth Wing, the characters in Empyrean have become well-developed, allowing the audience to invest in their stories. They have complicated relationships, strengths, insecurities, and flaws to make them feel realistic.
Fourth Wing’s Dragon Battles Will Undoubtedly Be The Best On TV
There’s no way to know whether Fourth Wing will ever become more popular than Game of Thrones. It seems unlikely but possible. However, there is one area that the upcoming show will most certainly win – the dragon battles.
Game of Thrones and its spinoff, House of the Dragon, have some great dragon battle scenes, but the dragon fights weren’t the point of the show. It always was more about the politics. That’s not true of Fourth Wing. The war is a driving force in the book, but dragons and dragon riders define the story.
The school Violet attends is entirely focused on riding dragons in combat scenarios. As dragon riders, the students compete in fatal challenges, and Navarre has no issue with them dying. They’re trying to weed out the weak to find the best of the best, so they use the Graduate or Die method.
Because dragon battles are such an integral part of the book series, there is no point making Fourth Wing if the fights aren’t perfectly choreographed with stunning visuals. It seems unthinkable that Prime Video or anyone other streamer would buy the book rights without knowing this.
As such, it stands to reason that they’re willing to invest the money into the CGI and visual effects necessary to create pulse-quickening, breath-taking dragon battles between the main characters and their scaly companions. What’s more, it will be a top priority for the Fourth Wing creative team because of the premise, which is a stark contrast to Game of Thrones.
When Will Prime Video’s Fourth Wing TV Show Come Out?
Fourth Wing is in development right now, with significant steps being taken towards starting production. For a short while, they lost their forward momentum after their showrunner stepped down. However, the Fourth Wing TV show is back on track, with Meredith Averill taking over the showrunner-writer position.
Averill has fantasy experience that could help make the Fourth Wing TV show the best that it can be. She served as co-showrunner on Locke & Key and as an EP on Wednesday season 2 and The Haunting of Hill House.
At the start of 2025, they have two drafts of the pilot script, which Rebecca Yarros loved. They’ve undoubtedly made progress on the screenwriting since then.
If they continue moving forward at this pace without any more bumps in the road, Fourth Wing could come out in mid to late 2027. This estimate would give them a few months to finish the scripts, a few months to film, and about 6 months to a year of post-production. The latter might sound long, but it’s actually pretty average for a high fantasy TV show.
