‘Eragon’ TV Series Adaptation in Development at Disney+ (EXCLUSIVE)

Joe Otterson
·3 min read
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Updated: An “Eragon” live-action TV series is in early development at Disney+, Variety has learned exclusively.

The series would be based on the Christopher Paolini young adult novel series “The Inheritance Cycle,” with “Eragon” being the first of the four books in that series.

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Paolini will serve as co-writer and executive producer on the series. Bert Salke will executive produce under his Co-Lab 21 banner, with 20th Television producing. Salke is currently under an overall deal with Disney Television Studios, of which 20th TV is a part. The search is currently on for a showrunner.

“This has been a long time coming,” Paolini said in a statement posted on Twitter. “I can’t tell you how many conversations, meetings, and messages were needed in order to reach this point. And we’re still just at the beginning! However, none of this would have been possible without everyone who has read the books, supported the tweetstorms, and participated in this fandom over the years. So a huge thank you from me to every Alagaësian out there. You brought the thunder.”

“The Inheritance Cycle” tells the story of a farmboy named Eragon who discovers an egg that hatches into a dragon he names Saphira. Through their bond and the help of his mentor Brom, Eragon learns to be a Dragon Rider, an ancient order that had long been thought to be wiped out by the evil king Galbatorix. Eragon and Saphira set out to defeat Galbatorix and free the land of Alagaësia from his tyranny.

“Eragon” was first self-published in 2002 before it was republished by Knopf in 2003. It was followed by “Eldest” in 2005, “Brisingr” in 2008, and “Inheritance” in 2011. The whole series has proven to be incredibly popular, with over 41 million copies sold worldwide. Check out more books becoming TV series and movies here.

“It’s thrilling to be working with Christopher on a Disney + adaptation of ‘Eragon,'” Salke said. “Like with Percy Jackson, 20th and D+ are providing a chance for us to translate these stories to film in the way their millions of fans deserve. We’re incredibly excited to find the showrunner/partner who will help us bring the Eragon story to screens around the world.”

Should the project move forward, it would not be first time that “Eragon” has been adapted for the screen. The book was previously adapted into a film of the same name in 2006 with Ed Speleers as Eragon, Rachel Weisz as the voice of Saphira, Jeremy Irons as Brom, and John Malkovich as Galbatorix. The film was widely panned by critics upon its release and grossed approximately $250 million at the worldwide box office against a reported budget of $100 million. In 2021, fans of the books began using the hashtag #EragonRemake in an effort to get Disney to produce a series version given their disappointment with the film.

“Eragon” would also be the latest high-profile YA novel series to get adapted into a Disney+ series. The streamer is currently working on a series version of Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson books starring Walker Scobell in the lead role.

Paolini is repped by WME, Writers House, and Weintraub Tobin.

Note: An earlier version of the story stated Paolini would be co-showrunner on the series, but it is now understood that the project is in such early stages that no such decision has been made officially.  

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