An Eragon live-action TV show is currently in development for Disney+.
According to Variety , the upcoming Eragon series will adapt the popular fantasy novels, The Inheritance Cycle, by author Christopher Paolini. Eragon is the first novel in the series, forming the basis of the new show.
Of course, this isn’t the first time Eragon has been adapted.
A live-action Eragon film debuted in 2006, but was panned by critics. The film starred Ed Speleers as Eragon, Rachel Weisz as Saphira, Jeremy Irons as Brom and John Malkovich as Galbatorix.
While it’s currently unknown if either of them will reprise their roles in the series, that seems unlikely. After all, the film grossed just $250 million on a $100 million budget and received absolutely terrible reviews.
The film currently has a score of 16% on Rotten Tomatoes.
IGN’s own review said that “the heavy-handed direction and poor adaptation of this half-decent but derivative fantasy story will definitely disappoint all but the thick-skinned and ardent fans.”
Eragon tells the story of the titular hero: a farm boy who lives with his uncle and cousin before being whisked away on an epic adventure when he unexpectedly finds a dragon egg…and nurtures the young beast once it hatches .
The novel Eragon was self-published by Paolini in 2002 before being republished in 2003. It was followed by Eldest in 2005, Brisingr in 2008 and Inheritance in 2011. A remake has fan support from 2021 , when he proposed the hashtag #EragonRemake. a reboot of the franchise at Disney.
Uhhh … 😎 (Y’all are the best fans.) https://t.co/V1CLyePzw4
— Christopher Paolini (@paolini) July 25, 2022
The upcoming TV show Eragon will see Paolini as a co-writer. Bert Salke is on board as an executive producer along with 20th Television. While Paolini is also thought to serve as showrunner, the series is too early in development for an official decision.
Disney+ is also bringing the Percy Jackson series back to our screens with a new TV series, with Project star Adam Walker Scobell as the popular hero.
Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.