Fans of Rebecca Yarross Empyrean Saga are devouring the newest book, Onyx Storm, which released on Jan 21. This installment continues the romantasy drama of Violet Sorrengail, a former scholar aspirant forced into becoming a dragon rider by her mother, a general in Navarres military. In the first book, Violet realizes that much of what shes been told about Navarres history and the threat lurking beyond its border, is untrue. The rebels shes been raised to hate are actually the people who were trying to fight a dangerous enemy to save their nation. One of the children of the rebel faction, Xaden Riorson, is also a dragon rider, and its through her enemies-to-lovers romance with him, and help from the dragons she has bonded with, that she begins to understand the stakes.The series, which hit the top of the bestseller lists when it launched with Fourth Wing in 2023, is expected to continue the trend in huge sales, with some in publishing pinning their hopes on Onyx Storm as the bestselling book of the year.Its no surprise that a series with such an avid fandom would be optioned for television, but while Amazon Studios optioned the book in late 2023, theres little information about what that television adaptation will look like. That means theres still a chance that Amazon Studios will make good on the opportunity to make Fourth Wing the adaptation it deserves to be: an adult animated series.Costly CGI Dragons and Inner MonologuesWhile some fans are sure to crave a live-action adaptation of the series, there are huge hurdles to truly bringing Fourth Wing to life. The biggest hurdle is, of course, the dragons. Game of Thrones is known to have limited the amount of screen time its dragons had due to the sheer expense of creating convincing dragons with CGI. The original series began with a cost of about $5 to $6 million per episode; with the increased presence of dragons in the sequel series, House of the Dragon costs $20 million per episode. While House of the Dragon is a success on HBO (though it isnt quite as highly rated as its predecessor), its an established world with an already built-in television fandom, established over Game of Thrones eight seasons. HBO can afford to spend $200 million on a single season. Would Fourth Wing be able to establish itself with the same size audience fast enough to justify that type of expense?The relationships of the riders and their dragons are focal to the series. While there are many scenes that dont feature them, their presence is vital in exploring both Violets dangerous training and her growing understanding of the world shes trying to save. Violet bonds with two dragons, both of whom she communicates with telepathically. Speaking mind-to-mind works well on the page, but how would those lines be delivered in a live-action setting? Would they be voiceovers, without the actors moving their lips?Beyond that, there are other elements in Fourth Wing that may just not translate well to live-action. The series leans heavily on protagonist Violets inner monologues to explain the world to readers. In one early scene in the first novel, she actually recites history to herself to keep her focus as she crosses a dangerous bridge into the dragon riding academy. That type of tell-not-show storytelling may have gotten a pass in the novel, especially as Yarros leaned into that quirky character trait of Violets scholarship as a coping mechanism, but in live-action, such delivery would be more likely to seem cheesy.Violet also has Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), a condition that makes her joints super flexible and prone to injury. That chronic pain is brought vividly to life in the novel as readers experience her inner thoughts. Amazons adaptation will need to pay close attention to providing the right representation while showing this core part of Violets character.Streaming Hasnt Figured Out Epic Fantasy YetRecently, famous fantasy novelist Brandon Sanderson talked about why he hadnt optioned the rights to his fantasy novels for screen adaptation. Streaming has a big problem with epic fantasy, and this has me worried, he said. Rings of Power and Wheel of Time have not gone as well as I wouldve hoped. Shadow and Bone lasted only two seasons, after a very strong first season. Streaming hasnt figured out epic fantasy yet.Sanderson does point out, however, one excellent fantasy show: Arcane. This League of Legends television series is certified 100% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, and those ratings prove that theres an appetite for truly well-made animated series for mature viewers. While Arcane is the most expensive animated TV show ever made, it still comes in well under House of the Dragons budget, with higher audience and critic ratings.But say that budget still isnt in the picture? Other animated fantasy series aimed at adults have been hugely popular in the last few years. The Legend of Vox Machina broke Kickstarter records for an animated special before it was picked up by Amazon Prime Video, and it was renewed for a fourth season in 2024 (beating out Shadow and Bone for longevity). While The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim came out to mixed reception, the criticism was more due to its inability to stand on its own as a film, not its gorgeous animation.When looking at the reception of Netflixs Avatar: The Last Airbenders live action adaptation of its excellent cartoon, its clear that most viewers prefer the original series. (The panned live-action films also showed that the characters had more life when animated than in live-action.) Reviews of Disneys live-action adaptations of their cartoon movies have likewise been mixedwhich shows that animation has a value beyond what live-action can offer. And elements like the telepathy between dragons and their ridersas well as the dragons themselveshave a shot at coming off more naturally in an animated series.Join our mailing listGet the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox!So while readers finish Onyx Storm and eagerly await books four and five of the saga, Amazon needs to put some thought into why animationand not live-actionis the best vehicle to tell Violet and Xadens romance. Its the adaptation fans deserve.