Amazon’s Fourth Wing Series Can Fix The Mistakes Of The Rings Of Power & The Wheel Of Time

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Amazon’s previous fantasy series, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power and The Wheel of Time, didn’t quite succeed as hoped, but the upcoming adaptation of Fourth Wing has the potential to change that. Based on Rebecca Yarros’ incredibly popular The Empyrean books – a blend of romance and fantasy – the show centers on Violet Sorrengail and her journey to become a dragon rider. The story’s exciting premise suggests Amazon is expecting big things, but after past disappointments, the team behind Fourth Wing needs to be careful and get it right.

Fantasy adaptations from books have a lot of promise, but Amazon Prime hasn’t quite found the formula for success. While the first season of The Wheel of Time, which debuted in 2021, received positive reviews from critics, many book readers and general audiences were disappointed. The biggest issue was that the show deviated from the source material, although later seasons attempted to address these concerns. Ultimately, these changes weren’t enough to save the series, and it was canceled after three seasons.

The Wheel Of Time Rotten Tomatoes Scores
Season Critic Score Audience Score
Season 1 81% 62%
Season 2 86% 81%
Season 3 97% 85%
The Rings of Power Rotten Tomatoes Scores
Season Critic Score Audience Score
Season 1 83% 38%
Season 2 85% 58%

Like The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Amazon’s new series Fourth Wing faces a challenge. Rings of Power started with a lot of promise, but received criticism even before its first season aired, largely because it significantly altered the original stories by J.R.R. Tolkien, upsetting many book fans. Now, as Amazon begins work on Fourth Wing, everyone is wondering if they can avoid repeating those mistakes and achieve greater success.

What Prime Video’s Fourth Wing Can Learn From The Wheel Of Time & The Rings Of Power

Both The Wheel of Time and The Rings of Power saw viewers like them more as the shows went on. The Wheel of Time started with a 62% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, but jumped to 85% by its third season. The Rings of Power’s scores also improved, going from 38% to 58% between seasons one and two, though it hasn’t reached the same level of positivity. Despite this, the initial reactions haven’t seemed to make much of a difference.

I was really enjoying The Wheel of Time, and honestly, season 3 was the strongest yet, so I was disappointed to hear it was canceled. It seems like the show just cost too much money for how many people were still watching. Amazon is still pushing forward with Rings of Power, but I’m hearing that it’s facing similar viewership drops. It’s a shame, because if Prime Video had grabbed viewers’ attention right from the start with either show, things might have turned out differently.

Amazon needs to make sure its Fourth Wing series is fantastic right from the start. Unlike other genres, fantasy shows with big budgets can’t afford to lose viewers, and improvements later on won’t make up for a shaky beginning. The key to success is staying very true to the original book. Fans were turned off by the significant changes made in Rings of Power and The Wheel of Time, and Amazon can’t afford to repeat that mistake with Fourth Wing.

Fourth Wing Is Already Off To A Great Start

Production on the Fourth Wing series is just beginning, but early signs are promising. Unlike the adaptations of The Wheel of Time and The Lord of the Rings, where the original authors were no longer alive to participate, Rebecca Yarros, the author of Fourth Wing, is expected to be closely involved in bringing her book to life on Prime Video. This level of author involvement is a very encouraging indicator for the show’s potential.

The upcoming series based on Fourth Wing has a strong creative team behind it. Michael B. Jordan’s Outlier Society is producing, and he’s made it clear this project is a high priority. Meredith Averill, known for her work on shows like Wednesday and The Haunting of Hill House, is also on board as showrunner, which is great news for fans.

The backlash from shows like The Wheel of Time and The Rings of Power will likely push Prime Video to improve its fantasy adaptations. If Fourth Wing disappoints fans as those shows did and loses viewers, it could effectively end Amazon’s attempts to create successful fantasy series. Fourth Wing really needs to succeed if Amazon wants to stay in the fantasy adaptation game.

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2026-04-19 20:20