The Internet Is Going Wild For This Cult Classic Fantasy Adaptation
The live-action adaptation of Eragon that's been in development at Disney for almost four years finally has an update, and the internet can't get enough.
The show will be inspired by the first novel in Christopher Paolini's The Inheritance Cycle series, following a young boy named Eragon who stumbles across a dragon's egg and protects the creature from dangerous hunters.
Disney's Eragon Show Has Finally Found Its Showrunners
On Wednesday, Variety reported that Todd Harthan and Todd Helbing had officially joined the crew of Disney's Eragon remake as co-showrunners. The former will also be credited as "creator" on the show, alongside Paolini. All three will serve as executive producers. TheAmazing Spider-Man's Marc Webb has also joined the project as an executive producer.
Disney's official logline for the series 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.”
Collectively, The Inheritance Cycle franchise has sold over 40 million copies worldwide, and the first book was adapted into the widely panned Eragon movie from 2006. Despite making a decent $250 million at the box office, the film received very poor reviews and currently sits at 15% on Rotten Tomatoes.
The Internet Can't Wait for Disney's Eragon Series
Since the announcement that Eragon was officially being remade into a show, the book's fanbase has been incredibly vocal online about their excitement for the project. The leading sentiment among fans is that author Paolini needs to have a strong involvement in the show.
"Hoping they actually respect the source material this time," one X user wrote. Another claimed that "this has the makings of a masterpiece of a series." While there's still plenty of pessimism given the terrible reception of the 2006 movie, fans seem to have faith in Disney to make this adaptation work.
Another fan remarked that "if Percy Jackson can redeem themselves from a great TV series, Eragon can as well." The Percy Jackson series is an astute comparison; after two poorly received movies back in the early 2010s, Rick Riordan's book franchise was revived at Disney with a large-budget series that's received generally positive reviews. It's yet to be seen whether Disney can replicate this success with Eragon, but they already have the blueprint.