The recently announced Eragon TV show represents a possibility to make up for the disappointment caused by the movie of the same name, Eragon (2006). The latter has not been received well by readers of the original books, who were disappointed with the many changes regarding the plot and characters in the 2006 adaptation. Now, 16 years later, the book will get what audiences are hopeful will be a proper adaptation with the upcoming Eragon, a live-action TV series currently in development at Disney+.
The Inheritance Cycle is a young adult epic fantasy book series written by Christopher Paolini. It is made up of four books, Eragon, Eldest, Brisingr, and Inheritance, all of which are intended to be adapted into the Disney+ TV show, Eragon. The books follow a 15-year-old farm boy, the titular character Eragon, who lives with his uncle and cousin. At the beginning of the first book, Eragon discovers a dragon egg near his village and, after the egg hatches, Eragon soon develops a special bond with his dragon, Saphira. With her help, he embarks on a journey through the land of Alagaësia to face off against its ruler, Galbatorix, and restore the Dragon Riders’ long-lost glory.
After the first attempt at adaptation with the 2006 film, the series seems to be the best hope to bring justice to this fantasy book series on screen. Although the show is only in its first stages of development, Disney +’s Eragon has already fixed one of the movie’s biggest mistakes: not including the author of the books. Similar to Rick Riordan’s collaboration in the upcoming Disney+’s upcoming Percy Jackson TV show, the few details that were disclosed regarding the Eragon adaptation revealed that Christopher Paolini is, in fact, very much involved in the production of the TV series as both co-writer and executive producer. This will inevitably lead to a more accurate adaptation and is certainly a testament to Disney +’s vision and attention not to repeat the 2006 film mistakes.
The Eragon Series Gives The Inheritance Cycle A Second Chance
Following Disney’s acquisition of 21st Century Fox, the studio that made the original 2006 movie adaptation, the intellectual rights for a possible Eragon reboot now belonged to Disney. Thus, a series of trending tweets started on Twitter to suggest a possible Inheritance Cycle television show for Disney+ with Christopher Paolini joining the Eragon Twitter campaign. The author himself, seemingly displeased with the movie’s portrayal of a story he has always been passionate about, encouraged people online to ask for a proper Eragon adaptation.
Not only was the 2006 adaptation of Eragon met with disappointment by both the author and his readers, but it also attracted mostly negative reviews. The film did not live up to expectations, leaving the need for a better depiction of the story and its characters on screen. The movie failed at delivering the stakes of the story and in creating the charm and magic of the land of Alagaësia, a land populated by different creatures, such as dragons, dwarfs, elves, and other species. By embracing the book’s complexities in terms of its characters, their background, and the fantasy world Paolini has created, the upcoming TV series can right the wrongs of the 2006 movie and do Eragon justice. With many popular young adult fantasy TV series being adapted from books after a failed film adaptation, such as the Shadowhunters series or Disney+’s very own tv series in current development, Percy Jackson, it is perhaps not a surprise that Disney would adopt this seemingly successful formula for the Eragon series as well.