It’s been a little bit since we got any concrete updates on the status of Prime Video’s Fourth Wing adaptation, but that hasn’t kept fans from discussing what the series could look like.
In case you’re not caught up, it was announced back in October 2023 that Amazon MGM Studios had acquired the rights to bring Rebecca Yarros’s bestselling Empyrean book series to the small screen, alongside Michael B. Jordan’s production company, Outlier Society. Despite this being nearly three years ago, though, the project is still stuck in development, with a new showrunner joining in September 2025.
Fans want Costa D'Angelo to play Xaden Riorson in Fourth Wing
So while you wait to see beloved characters Violet Sorrengail and Xaden Riorson on their TVs, you can find tons of discussions about the series—both the books and the planned show—on BookTok, including fancasts for who people want to see in the main roles.
One such fancast that’s been gaining traction in recent weeks is Tell Me Lies newcomer Costa D’Angelo, who fans (myself included) are convinced would be perfect as the heartthrob dragon rider.
In Tell Me Lies, Hulu’s scandalous drama based on Carola Lovering’s book of the same name, Alex is a budding romantic interest for the protagonist Lucy (Grace Van Patten) in the currently-airing season 3. While Alex, who is a drug dealer at their college, comes off a little suspicious at first, the more screen time he has, the more viewers are falling for him.
In the weeks since D’Angelo was introduced in Tell Me Lies, viewers have flocked to his comments sections to share their passionate fancast. “Xadennnnnnn 🐉🐉🐉🐉🐉,” one commented on a recent Instagram post, while another wrote, “My xaden riorson.”
Fans on TikTok have also taken to the comments section of fan edits, with one declaring, “he’s giving Xaden riorson 😩😩 booktok girlies unite,” to which one person agreed, “This would be amazing and totally fit what I envision.”
On the other hand, some fans have been calling for D’Angelo to play Kade Mitchell in an Edge of Darkness adaptation, while another argued he’d make a great Rhysand in an A Court of Thorns and Roses adaptation. All in all, I think this fan comment sums it up nicely: “Book boyfriend material.”
This is the one Fourth Wing fancast I can actually see
Xaden is described as having dark hair, a warm skin tone, and, of course, a toned figure, but it’s more than his physical appearance that fits D’Angelo. His character in Tell Me Lies is confident, yet secretive and serious—all traits that Xaden possesses as well. They’ve also both got a level of swag that makes them hard to resist. While Lucy might be too distracted to fall for Alex in Tell Me Lies, she can’t stay away from him for long.
D’Angelo’s charisma and appearance as Alex in Tell Me Lies has me convinced the Australian actor would absolutely crush it in the role of Xaden—so much so that it’s the first fancast for the character I’ve seen that I actually really agree with.
As we continue to fancast the Fourth Wing show and look out for any updates, you’re probably wondering what is going on with the adaptation. Well, we still don’t have a cast or release window, but we did get a promising confirmation in January on the status.
During an interview with Deadline last month, Michael B. Jordan assured that the Fourth Wing series is still in the works, sharing that the team behind the project “are making sure that this is going to be [an] exciting show that delivers on all of the things the fans want and some of the things that they won’t be expecting either.”
“But trust me, I know how beloved this franchise IP is and we’re diligently… We’re in the lab, we’re cooking up,” Jordan added. “We got it. It’s coming. It’s early stages, but I feel how much people care about this one. It’s not lost on us.”
Stay tuned for more updates on Fourth Wing at Prime Video. Yarros’s book series is believed to have five books total, with the first three—Fourth Wing, Iron Flame, and Onyx Storm—currently available.