• Netflix’s Swapped hit 38.7 million views in its second week, the biggest single week ever for a Netflix animated movie.
• The film surpassed previous records held by The Sea Beast, Leo, and KPop: Demon Hunters.
• Director Nathan Greno and Skydance Animation spent six years developing the film, scrapping an early concept entirely to start over.
• The movie stars Michael B. Jordan and Juno Temple as two different species forced to swap bodies — with no humans anywhere in the story.
• Skydance Animation chief John Lasseter greenlit a full creative overhaul after Greno pitched him the body-swap concept about a year into production.

Netflix has a new animated phenomenon on its hands. Swapped, the latest film from Skydance Animation and director Nathan Greno, pulled in 38.7 million views during the week of May 4–10 — the largest audience any Netflix animated movie has ever drawn in a seven-day window. That’s not a small record to break. It beat out The Sea Beast‘s previous high of 34.9 million, leapfrogged Leo‘s 34.6 million opening week, and even cleared the 30.1 million that KPop: Demon Hunters — a film that went on to shatter multiple Netflix records — posted in its 11th week.

What makes the number even more striking is the trajectory. Swapped debuted as the No. 2 English-language film on Netflix with 15.5 million views in its first three days on the platform. Then it more than doubled that figure the following week. That kind of second-week surge is rare for any title — animated or otherwise.

The film stars Oscar winner Michael B. Jordan as Ollie, a small, rodent-like creature called a pookoo, and Juno Temple as Ivy, a bird-like javan. The two species share the same food supply and, as a result, share very little else — including any goodwill toward each other. When a magical flower causes Ollie and Ivy to swap bodies, they’re suddenly forced to see the world through each other’s eyes and work together to find a way back. Tracy Morgan rounds out the voice cast.

Six Years, One Big Pivot, and a Conversation With John Lasseter

The road to those record-breaking numbers was anything but straightforward. Greno and his team spent more than six years developing Swapped — and the movie that exists today looks almost nothing like the one they started making.

The original concept centered on four teenagers with superpowers who couldn’t be more different from each other. The team spent about a year developing that version before Greno started feeling that something was fundamentally off. The deeper they dug into research on empathy — the emotional core they wanted the film to have — the more a different kind of story kept emerging.

“Everything kept speaking to a different type of movie,” Greno said. The idea of walking a mile in someone else’s shoes, of literally gaining someone else’s perspective, didn’t fit the superhero framework no matter how many ways they tried to make it work.

So Greno walked into Skydance Animation chief John Lasseter’s office and said something that could have derailed the entire production. “I said, ‘I think we’re doing the movie wrong.’ And he’s like, ‘What are you talking about?’ And I said, ‘I think the movie should be about this — walking a mile in someone else’s shoes. It’s a transformation movie,'” Greno recalled. He pitched Lasseter on using the camera itself to approximate what it feels like to look through someone else’s eyes — to literally make the audience see the movie differently depending on whose perspective they’re inhabiting.

Lasseter’s response? He asked Greno what he wanted to do.

“I want to blow the movie up,” Greno told him.

Lasseter gave him the green light.

From there, the production team made a decision that sets Swapped apart from virtually every other body-swap movie that’s come before it. In films like Freaky Friday or Like Father, Like Son, it’s always two humans who trade places. Lasseter pushed the idea further — no humans in the film at all. That single creative choice opened up the entire fantastical world of the pookoos and javans, giving the movie its distinctive, otherworldly texture.

“It opened up the doors in a really interesting way of like, what if we created our own species? It was all about trying to create distance in order to tell a story about empathy. You want to create differences, you want to create the other,” Greno explained. “And so in doing that, scale played a huge part of it, and so did this plant-to-animal spectrum thing. And unlike Jungle Book or movies we’ve seen before with talking animals, these species cannot speak to each other, which also felt very different and original and fresh.”

A Message the Moment Needed

The timing of Swapped landing the way it has isn’t lost on anyone who made it. Greno was candid about why the film’s themes feel so relevant right now — even though the team started developing them half a decade ago.

“The idea was looking at today’s climate, especially six years ago, looking at where things were at. It’s always meant to be entertainment. You want to put something on that’s a fun rollercoaster to watch,” he said. “But at the same time, you want to put a message out there that could do something good, add something positive to the world and here we are. You know, six years later, we still need this movie.”

Producer Mary Ellen Bauder Andrews was equally thoughtful about the balance the film tries to strike. “We wanted a movie that is about empathy, that has a nice message for the audience, without it feeling like, here’s a lesson for you to learn,” she said. “We just wanted to have a nice takeaway and have an optimistic-feeling film, but not like, these are the lessons learned.”

That approach — warmth without lecturing — seems to be exactly what audiences are responding to. Swapped is Skydance Animation’s third feature, and by any measure, it’s the studio’s biggest moment yet. For Greno, who previously directed Tangled for Disney, it’s a triumphant return to animated storytelling — and proof that a six-year bet on empathy was worth every second of it.

The post Netflix’s ‘Swapped’ Breaks Animated Viewing Record appeared first on Cream.

• Prime Video has officially ordered a TV series adaptation of Rebecca Yarros’ bestselling romantasy Fourth Wing
• Michael B. Jordan is executive producing through his Outlier Society production company, which acquired the rights before the first book even published
• Lisa Joy (Westworld) will direct the first episode; Meredith Averill (Locke & Key) joins as showrunner
• Jordan announced the pickup at Amazon’s upfront presentation at the Beacon Theatre in New York
• The series is part of a growing Prime Video slate from Jordan, which also includes a Muhammad Ali biopic and a Creed spinoff

Fourth Wing — the dragon-rider romantasy that took over every BookTok shelf and airport display in 2023 — is officially becoming a Prime Video series, and Michael B. Jordan is the one making it happen.

Jordan announced the series pickup himself at Amazon’s upfront presentation Monday at the Beacon Theatre in New York, where he took the stage not as an actor, but as a producer with a growing empire. His production company, Outlier Society, had quietly snapped up the rights to Rebecca Yarros’ Empyrean book series before the first novel even hit shelves in May 2023 — a bet that paid off spectacularly when Fourth Wing debuted as an instant New York Times bestseller and became one of the defining book-world phenomena of the decade.

The series follows twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail, who is ordered by her military general mother to join candidates competing to become elite dragon riders at the brutal Basgiath War College. It’s the kind of high-stakes, emotionally charged world that readers have been desperate to see brought to life — and now they’re getting it.

The Creative Team Coming Together

The names attached behind the camera are serious. Lisa Joy, co-creator of HBO’s Westworld, will direct the first episode and executive produce. Meredith Averill, who co-created Netflix’s Locke & Key, comes aboard as showrunner — replacing Moira Walley-Beckett, who had originally joined the project in summer 2024 but later exited. The series was first put into development back in October 2023, but stalled before Averill’s arrival last September got things moving again.

Additional executive producers include Outlier president Elizabeth Raposo, Jonathan Nolan, and Athena Wickham of Kilter Films. Liz Pelletier and Sherryl Clark executive produce for Premeditated Productions, with Outlier’s EVP of TV Stefano Agosto co-executive producing. Yarros herself is also on board as an EP.

Yarros sounded genuinely moved by the team assembled around her work. “I’m thrilled to be working with this dedicated, experienced team and grateful for their passion for both the books and the readership behind them,” she said. Peter Friedlander, Head of Global Television at Amazon MGM Studios, called the series “one of the most anticipated adaptations in the world” — which, given the size of the fandom, isn’t much of an exaggeration.

A Big Night for Jordan’s Production Company

Fourth Wing was just one part of what turned into a major moment for Jordan at the upfront. Introduced by Friedlander and Amazon film chief Courtenay Valenti, who praised the studio’s “expansive relationship” with Outlier Society, Jordan walked out to announce not one but three Prime Video projects.

First was The Greatest, a Muhammad Ali biographical series created by Ben Watkins — and notably the first-ever project about Ali’s life authorized by his estate. Ali’s widow, Lonnie Ali, is serving as consultant and joined Jordan on stage to talk about the project and the young actor, Jaalen Best, who will take on the role of Ali, beginning as Cassius Clay. Jordan brought Best out to the crowd before a sizzle reel teased what’s coming.

Then came Delphi, a spinoff of the Creed franchise Jordan is making alongside his frequent collaborator Ryan Coogler, with showrunner Marco Ramirez attached. Production is set to begin in Los Angeles on May 18.

And finally, Fourth Wing — the one that had fantasy fans losing their minds on social media before the upfront was even over.

As for whether Jordan will appear on screen in Fourth Wing himself, that’s still unclear. For now, his fingerprints are all over the creative side — and given that Outlier Society locked in the rights before Yarros’ debut novel was even published, it’s clear Jordan saw something special in this world long before the rest of the world caught up.

The Empyrean series now spans three books — Fourth Wing (May 2023), Iron Flame (November 2023), and Onyx Storm (January 2025) — with two more planned. That’s a lot of dragon-riding story left to tell. And Prime Video just cleared the runway.

The post Fourth Wing Is Becoming a Prime Video Series With Michael B. Jordan appeared first on Cream.

• Prime Video has officially ordered a series adaptation of Rebecca Yarros’ bestselling romantasy novel Fourth Wing
• Michael B. Jordan announced the pickup at Amazon’s Upfront presentation at the Beacon Theatre on May 11
• Lisa Joy (Westworld) will direct the pilot; Meredith Averill (The Haunting of Hill House) is showrunner
• The series has been in development since Amazon MGM acquired the rights in 2023 — it’s been a long wait for fans
• No cast has been announced yet; the show will stream in over 240 countries and territories worldwide

The dragons are finally coming to Prime Video. After more than two years in development, the streaming giant has officially ordered a series adaptation of Rebecca Yarros’ Fourth Wing — the romantasy phenomenon that took over BookTok, broke sales records, and turned millions of readers into obsessives practically overnight.

Executive producer Michael B. Jordan made the announcement Monday night at Amazon’s Upfront presentation at the Beacon Theatre in New York, closing out the evening alongside fellow EP and pilot director Lisa Joy, showrunner Meredith Averill, and Yarros herself. The moment felt fitting — this is a book series with a fanbase that doesn’t just read the books, they live in them, and the people behind the adaptation clearly know that.

The Team Behind the Adaptation

The creative lineup here is serious. Meredith Averill, who co-created Netflix’s Locke & Key and worked on The Haunting of Hill House, is running the show as showrunner and executive producer. Lisa Joy — the Westworld co-creator who also helmed Prime Video’s Fallout adaptation — will direct the first episode and serve as EP through her production company Kilter Films, which she co-founded with Jonathan Nolan. Nolan and Kilter’s Athena Wickham are also on board as executive producers.

Jordan is producing through his Outlier Society banner, which has an overall TV deal with Amazon MGM Studios. Elizabeth Raposo, Outlier’s president, is an EP alongside Jordan. Liz Pelletier and Sherryl Clark are producing for Premeditated — the sister company to Fourth Wing publisher Entangled Publishing, which gives the project a direct line to the source. Outlier Society EVP of television Stefano Agosto rounds out the team as co-executive producer.

“This project required the right creative partner,” Jordan said on stage before introducing Joy.

Averill, for her part, clearly gets what makes this series tick. “Rebecca’s books have become one of the fastest selling franchises of the 21st century, with a fandom so passionate, so devoted, they don’t just read these books, they live in them,” she said. “The emotional stakes are sky high, the battles are epic, power dynamics are thrilling, and underneath it is so much humor and heart and a romance that will consume you.”

Yarros gave the whole team her blessing — and it sounds like she means it. “These are the people who understand what a story means to its readers, and they’re passionate about the book, which is why I trust them completely,” she said. She also added in a statement: “I’m thrilled to be working with this dedicated, experienced team and grateful for their passion for both the books and the readership behind them.”

What the Show Is About — and How Far It Could Go

For anyone who somehow missed the BookTok frenzy: Fourth Wing centers on twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail, who had plans for a quiet life as a Scribe until her mother — a military general — orders her into the brutal world of Basgiath War College. There’s only one rule there: graduate or die. Violet joins hundreds of candidates competing to become dragon riders, the elite of the kingdom of Navarre. Romance, danger, power dynamics, and a lot of dragons follow.

The first book hit shelves in May 2023 and became an instant New York Times bestseller. The sequel, Iron Flame, followed in November 2023, and the third installment, Onyx Storm, arrived in January 2025. Yarros has planned five books total — meaning, if the show succeeds, there’s material for multiple seasons already mapped out. The fourth and fifth titles haven’t been announced yet.

The series will stream exclusively on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide — a massive global footprint for a story with an already massive global fanbase. Amazon MGM Studios head of global television Peter Friedlander called it “one of the most anticipated adaptations in the world.”

“Violet’s journey in Fourth Wing has sparked a global phenomenon, captivating millions of readers and building an intensely passionate fanbase around its world, characters, and emotional stakes,” Friedlander said. “We’re bringing it to life in a way that honors what fans love about the story.”

The Long Road to a Series Order

Amazon MGM acquired the rights to the book series in a competitive auction right around the time the first novel published in 2023 — the buzz was already that loud. But the road from rights acquisition to actual series order has taken over two years and had its share of bumps.

Moira Walley-Beckett — the Breaking Bad writer and creator of Anne With an E — was originally brought on as showrunner in the summer of 2024, but she exited the project. Averill stepped in as showrunner in September 2025, and the project gained real momentum from there. Monday’s series order is the payoff fans have been waiting for.

No casting has been announced yet — meaning Violet Sorrengail, Xaden Riorson, Rhiannon Matthias, Liam Mairi, and Dain Aetos are all still up for grabs. Production and premiere dates haven’t been set either. But with this team locked in and the order officially made, the search for Violet is almost certainly underway.

Fourth Wing was one of three projects Jordan presented at the Amazon Upfront under Outlier Society’s deal with the studio. He also unveiled a first look at The Greatest, an authorized Muhammad Ali limited series, and Delphi, the first TV series set in the Creed film universe, which begins production in Los Angeles on May 18.

But it was Fourth Wing that closed the night — and for the millions of readers who’ve been waiting, it was worth the wait just to hear it made official.

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