Amazon’s Fourth Wing Adaptation Has 1 Huge Problem Game Of Thrones Never Did
The TV show Fourth Wing faces a major challenge that Game of Thrones never had with one of the main CGI elements, which could hurt the adaptation.
The television adaptation of Fourth Wing has an obstacle to its success, with a major element of the story that Game of Thrones never had to face. The book Fourth Wing was written by Rebecca Yarros and was released in May 2023. The book quickly blew up on TikTok’s BookTok, with 1 billion views to date across all related hashtags, which led to it staying on the New York Times Bestseller list for 25 weeks. weeks. This immense popularity led to the books being picked up by Amazon MGM Studios to create a TV series.
The story follows 20-year-old Violet Sorrengail, who is forced to join the Riders Quadrant at Basgiath War College to become a dragon rider. While at college, Violet works to uncover the truth behind an impending war while also navigating the deadly challenges at school. While Game of Thrones and Fourth Wing differ in their storylines, both have a focus on dragons. Game of Thrones successfully portrayed these creatures, which contributed to the show’s success. However, the specific requirements for the dragons in the fantasy TV show adaptation of Fourth Wing pose a challenge that Game of Thrones never had.
Game Of Thrones’ Dragons Looked Great – But There Were Only A Few
The biggest difference in using dragons in the two stories is the quantity, as Game of Thrones only has three dragons whereas Fourth Wing has hundreds. The reason there are only three dragons in Game of Thrones is due to the Targaryen civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons that killed off the majority of the species. This allowed Game of Thrones to spend its budget developing three incredible CGI dragons, which added to the overall effect and look of the series.
Fourth Wing faces a unique challenge as the entire show revolves around dragons, with the dragons Tarin and Andarna being two of the main characters.
Moreover, since the dragons weren’t the central focus of every episode, the show didn’t require them to have a constant on-screen presence. However, Fourth Wing faces a unique challenge as the entire show revolves around dragons, with the dragons Tarin and Andarna being two of the main characters. In Fourth Wing, there are seven color types of dragons, who have a variety of unique tails. There is also a yearly Threshing, where hundreds of dragons can bond with new riders.
The story itself follows a war against the Poromiel and their griffon fliers and an unknown enemy who rides wyverns. Given the multitude of dragons and mythical creatures, Fourth Wing runs into the problem of realistically portraying the scale of these beings on television. With Game of Thrones having set a high standard with its three dragons, Fourth Wing must match that quality to ensure the show’s success.
Fourth Wing’s Dragons Have To Look Realistic & That Means A Huge Budget
The Fourth Wing Amazon series needs a significant budget due to the extensive number of dragons required. Game of Thrones spent around $6 million per episode for season one, and the dragons didn’t even hatch until the end of that season. Then the dragons didn’t reach their full size until Game of Thrones season 7, and at that point, the series had a budget of about $10 million per episode. Come the final season, Game of Thrones’ budget was $15 million per episode, so there was plenty of money to create full-size dragons for the series.
Since dragons are the central focus and key element to the show’s success, meeting the standard set by Game of Thrones is essential.
Even if Fourth Wing were to secure a budget of a similar scale to Game of Thrones, the majority of the funds would be spent bringing to life the hundreds of dragons. Since dragons are the central focus and key element to the show’s success, meeting the standard set by Game of Thrones is essential. This presents a major obstacle for the Fourth Wing adaptation, because if they are unable to secure a large budget and develop the hundreds of dragons that are needed to fully develop the world, then the show might struggle with its dragons being as impactful as they need to be for the story to succeed.
