A mash-up of long-standing genres called “romantasy” has been overtaking the publishing industry for some time now, and a lot of these popular novel series are getting some high-profile adaptations. “Fourth Wing,” the first book in the “Empyrean” series by Rebecca Yarros, is no exception; in May 2026, Deadline reported that Amazon is developing a TV adaptation, with recently minted Oscar winner Michael B. Jordan attached as an executive producer.
This is, obviously, unbelievable news for fans of “Fourth Wing,” which is set primarily at Basgiath War College and centers around protagonist Violet Sorrengail, a young woman whose mother insisted that she attend the college to learn to become a fierce dragonrider who’s ready to fight. Violet, who prefers books to battles and hoped to join the Scribe Quadrant at Basgiath but ends up in the Riders Quadrant alongside her newfound rival Xaden Riorson, is quite a bit smaller and slighter than many of her cohorts, but she still proves to be a pretty talented dragonrider; in fact, she finds herself bonded with not one but two dragons. After joining the titular Fourth Wing of the quadrant, Violet bonds to two dragons — Tairneanach, whom she calls “Taim,” and Andarnaurram, or “Andarna,” the first of whom is huge and physically imposing and the second of whom is slender, golden, and quick.
So who’s going to play Violet in the “Fourth Wing” TV series? As of this writing, we don’t know … so we’re going to guess. From a beloved “Mad Men” veteran to one of the biggest breakout stars of 2026, here are five actors who would make a great Violet Sorrengail.
Kiernan Shipka
Simon Ridgway/HBOToo many people only know Kiernan Shipka from “Mad Men,” where she played Sally Draper, the understandably petulant daughter of Jon Hamm’s lying, thieving ad man, Don Draper. That’s a shame, and not because Shipka isn’t phenomenal as Sally. She absolutely is! The problem here is that after “Mad Men” ended, Shipka grew up and continued to explore her range as a performer. Sure, part of that was on “The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina,” a frankly bizarre Netflix series with Shipka as the Archie Comics character Sabrina Spellman, but I’m thinking, more specifically, of her 2026 turn on HBO’s deliciously dark financial drama “Industry.”
During the show’s fourth and penultimate season, Shipka began a role as Hayley Clay, a shrewd young woman in the fictional, dangerous, and drug-fueled underbelly of London’s financial scene on “Industry.” After endearing herself to Tender CFO Whitney Halberstram (Max Minghella) as his assistant, Hayley ends up in the orbit of Yasmin Kara-Hanani (Marisa Abela) and her dim-witted entrepreneur husband Sir Henry Muck (a devastatingly great Kit Harington), and I literally cannot write here what happens next. Beyond that, Shipka is a petite, slight actress; she looks great as a brunette, and she certainly has the acting chops to play Violet.
Mackenzie Foy
Walt Disney Studios Motion PicturesTo be fair to Mackenzie Foy, she hasn’t gotten a chance, like Kiernan Shipka, to prove her adult bonafides as an actress. You probably recognize her as the non-creepy baby doll version of Renesmee, the half-human, half-vampire baby who appears in ” The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1″ and “Part 2,” or perhaps you’ve seen her in Christopher Nolan’s space epic “Interstellar” as young Murphy “Murph” Cooper, 2018’s “The Nutcracker and the Four Realms” or 2020’s adaptation of the classic novel “Black Beauty.”
As a fan on Reddit said in a thread about fan-casting the “Fourth Wing” series, Foy really has the right look. “Then someone said Mackenzie Foy and I can’t get it out of my head,” u/Lumos_Nox26 wrote, saying that they were convinced to see Violet as Foy from that point on. “She’s super tiny and looks like Violet is described.” Even though Foy obviously got her start in one of the biggest fantasy franchises in recent memory, she’d still be a really cool pick for Violet … based at least partly on the fact that her star is still on the rise.
Inde Navarrette
Focus FeaturesTo be absolutely fair to Inde Navarrette — she has appeared in projects before “Obsession,” Curry Barker’s 2025 horror hit that serves as her breakout role. Still, there’s no question that, as we start wondering who might play the role of Violet Sorrengail in the “Fourth Wing” movie, some buzzy names might get thrown around … and Navarrette definitely has an advantage there, considering that her turn in “Obsession” makes it clear that she’s a major talent to watch.
Before “Obsession,” Navarrette played the regular role of Sarah Cortez on the CW series “Superman & Lois,” and she also appeared in a later season of the controversial teen drama “13 Reasons Why” as high schooler Estela de la Cruz. Anyone who’s even heard of “Obsession,” though, has heard just how phenomenal Navarrette is as Nikki, the object of a guy named Bear’s (Michael Johnston) affection who ends up under a spell and forced to love him when he makes a wish using what turns out to be a dangerous artifact. Violet has to go from meek and bookish to formidable and fiery at the drop of a hat, and Navarrette can absolutely pull that off.
Dove Cameron
Apple TVFor such a young actress, Dove Cameron has a seriously stacked résumé — which, to be fair, is due in large part to being a Disney Channel kid. After getting her start on shows like “Liv & Maddie” (as both Liv and Maddie Rooney, actually), Cameron became part of Disney’s “Descendants” franchise, appearing on-screen and providing voice performances as Mal, the daughter of Disney villain Maleficent (Kristin Chenoweth). After blowing audiences away in 2016 with her vocal chops as Amber von Tussle in NBC’s live version of “Hairspray,” Cameron snagged a recurring role on “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” as Ruby Hale and eventually landed a starring gig on the delightful Apple TV original “Schmigadoon!”
Across the show’s unfortunately brief two seasons, Cameron plays two distinct roles in two distinct eras of musical theater. In Season 1, which takes cues from musicals from the Golden Age in the 1940s and 1950s, Cameron plays farmer’s daughter Betsy McDonough, and in the second, temptress and performer Jenny Banks. (The second season, formally nicknamed “Schmicago,” centers on musicals like “Chicago” and “Sweeney Todd.) Add this to Cameron’s 2026 role in the Amazon thriller series “56 Days,” and you’ve got a performer with serious range who looks great as a brunette — and would likely look right at home on dragonback.
Sadie Sink
NetflixFinally, my fifth fan-casting choice for Violet Sorrengail is someone you’ll probably recognize from the Netflix hit “Stranger Things” — Sadie Sink. Even though Sink’s co-star Natalia Dyer is the show’s resident brunette, making her the more “obvious” choice to play Violet, hair dye exists … and I think Sink has the steely, flinty quality about her as a performer to do Violet justice. Sink, of course, began her time on “Stranger Things” during the show’s second season in 2017 as Max Mayfield, who moves to the clearly haunted town of Hawkins, Indiana, with her cruel step-brother Billy Hargrove (Dacre Montgomery). Max ends up a part of the main ensemble, falling in love with Lucas Sinclair (Caleb McLaughlin) and helping the core gang defend Hawkins from horrifying supernatural forces.
Aside from “Stranger Things,” Sink has also appeared onstage — most notably in the Broadway hit “John Proctor Is the Villain” — and popped up in “The Whale” and “Fear Street,” among other projects. She’s also the star of Taylor Swift’s “All Too Well” short film, so if Swift is a “Fourth Wing” fan, she might lobby for her friend and collaborator Sink to snag this role. Regardless of all that, Sink is a fantastic actress, and she’d make an excellent Violet Sorrengail.
