Amazon has tapped “Anne With an E” creator and “Breaking Bad” writer Moira Walley-Beckett as the showrunner of its “Fourth Wing” TV adaptation.
Based on the best-selling romantasy book series from author Rebecca Yarros, dubbed “The Empyrean” novels, “Fourth Wing” is set inside the brutal world of Basgiath War College, where there is only one rule: Graduate or Die. Our protagonist, twenty year old Violet Sorrengail was always expected to live a quiet life – but she’s sent on an entirely different path when her mother, a General in the military orders her to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre: dragon riders.
First put into development in October 2023, “Fourth Wing” TV series hails from Amazon MGM Studios and Michael B. Jordan’s Outlier Society. Executive producers include Jordan and Outlier president Elizabeth Raposo, along with Walley-Beckett, author Yarros and Liz Pelletier (head of “Fourth Wing” publisher Entangled Publishing). Outlier Society executive vice president of TV Stefano Agosto will co-executive produce.
Yarros’ “The Empyrean” book series began with the May 2023 release of “Fourth Wing,” which recently crossed 1 full year on the New York Times-bestseller list. The sequel, “Iron Flame,” hit shelves November 2023, and “Onyx Storm,” the third book in the ongoing series (currently planned as five books), is slated to arrive in January 2025.
Walley-Beckett spent six years as a writer and co-executive producer on AMC’s “Breaking Bad,” and won three Emmy Awards for her work on the show, including the Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series accolade for penning the Season 5 episode, “Ozymandias.” She went on to create and showrun Netflix and CBC’s “Anne With an E” and Starz’s “Flesh and Bone” limited series.
Currently under a first-look film deal and exclusive TV deal at Amazon, Outlier Society’s most notable project thus far is “Creed III.” Jordan’s prodco is developing TV projects “The Thomas Crown Affair,” “The Greatest,” “Victories Greater Than Death” and “T-Minus,” as well as a film adaptation of “Tom Clancy’s Rainbow 6” at Paramount Pictures with director Chad Stahelski.
Walley-Beckett is repped by UTA. Yarros is repped by Grandview and The Fury Agency. Outlier Society by M88 and WME. Entangled Publishing by Independent Artist Group and Alliance Rights Agency.