First announced back in 2022, a serialized live-action take on Eragon is finally moving forward at Disney+ with new showrunners and producers on board.
Bert Salke is still set to executive produce via Co-Lab 21. 20th Television, and he'll be joined by Todd Harthan and Todd Helbing as co-showrunners, with Harthan set as co-creator on the show alongside Eragon author Christopher Paolini.
All three will serve as executive producers along with Marc Webb (The Amazing Spider-Man movies) and Rachel Moore.
The show's official logline reads: “When destiny selects an ordinary teenager to become the first Dragon Rider in over a hundred years, he must forge an unbreakable bond with his dragon, master ancient magic, and challenge the mad king who destroyed the Riders.”
Eragon is the first of four books in the “Inheritance Cycle” saga, which also includes Eldest, Brisingr, and Inheritance. The novels are massively popular, collectively selling more than 40 million copies worldwide. The first book was previously adapted into a 2006 movie starring Ed Speleers as Eragon, Rachel Weisz as the voice of Saphira, Jeremy Irons as Brom, and John Malkovich as Galbatorix, but it was widely panned by critics and fans alike - though it did end up grossing $250 million at the worldwide box office against a reported budget of $100 million.
In 2021, fans began to use the hashtag #EragonRemake in an attempt to convince Disney to develop a new series, and the campaign clearly paid off.
“This has been a long time coming,” Paolini said in a statement when the show was announced. “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.”
“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.”
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