A live-action streaming show based on young adult fantasy novel Eragon is in early stages of development at Disney Plus, following an exhaustive fan campaign last summer.
The popular book, which comes first in Christopher Paolini’s The Inheritance Cycle, tells the story of humble farm boy Eragon, who comes into possession of a dragon egg and bonds with the mythical beast once it hatches.
With guidance from mentor figure Brom, he goes on to join the ancient order of the Dragon Riders, who were almost entirely wiped out by an evil king named Galbatorix.
Eragon and his majestic dragon Saphira soon find themselves on a collision course with the tyrannical ruler, becoming the kingdom of Alagaësia’s only hope for freedom from his cruel regime.
The four books in the franchise have been mammoth hits, selling upwards of 41 million copies worldwide, with the story having all the makings of a blockbuster fantasy epic.
Alas, the 2006 film adaptation starring Ed Speleers, Jeremy Irons and Rachel Weisz fell flat with critics and audiences alike, resulting in an underwhelming box office haul and the scrapping of sequel plans.
As a result, fans of the books launched the #EragonRemake campaign last summer, hoping to sway Disney into taking another stab at the source material, but this time in the form of a prestige streaming series.
So, all I can say at the moment is … thank you. Thank you to everyone who has read the books, supported the tweetstorms, and participated in this fandom. None of this would have happened without you Alagaësians. https://t.co/wxJpo8ZKal
— Christopher Paolini (@paolini) July 26, 2022
According to Paolini himself (via Instagram), the studio was hesitant about the idea at the time, but Variety reports that it is now officially developing an Eragon series for Disney Plus.
In response to the news, the author tweeted: “All I can say at the moment is thank you. Thank you to everyone who has read the books, supported the tweetstorms, and participated in this fandom. None of this would have happened without you Alagaësians.”
Fans should measure their expectations as the show remains in only the early stages of development, meaning there’s still a chance that it might not make it to a full series, but this is certainly a promising step forward.
Paolini is attached as a co-writer working alongside executive producer Bert Salke, who is also currently attached to the Disney Plus reboot of Percy Jackson, another young adult fantasy series that was never done justice on the big screen.
Eragon (2006) is available to stream on Disney Plus. Check out more of our Fantasy coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what’s on tonight. You can sign up to Disney Plus for £7.99 a month or £79.90 a year now.
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