With the announcement that Christopher Paolini's best-selling fantasy novel would be getting reimagined as a streaming series, fix the mistakes of the failed movie adaptation. Since it's only in early development, little is known about what form the series will take though.
In fact, it's possible that it may not come to fruition at all, and it wouldn't be the first series to stall at this stage by any means. Luckily, all of the details released so far suggest there's reason to be cautiously optimistic. From Paolini's increased involvement compared to the movie to how it might develop to adapt the entire Inheritance Cycle series, these are the most encouraging details.
The Eragon Series Has Been A Long Time Coming
A part of the reason why the possibility of an Eragon series became a topic of discussion in the first place was the 15th anniversary of the ill-fated Eragon movie last year. Although the 2006 movie was a moderate success at the box office, critical reception was mixed, and many fans felt it did the books a disservice, leading to plans for further movies evaporating quickly.
The adaptation rights have remained with 20th Century Fox, who signaled little interest in reviving the series. Luckily, that changed with the acquisition of the company by Disney, but Paolini's ission that it had "been a long time coming" in his statement on Twitter shows it was likely still a mission to get it off the ground. Hopefully, that only means a lot more thought and care is being put into this attempt.
The Fan Campaign Really Did Help Make It Happen
Whilst social media campaigns can be successful, such as the massive push to release Zack Snyder's cut of the Paolini got on board with fans petitioning Disney to produce a reboot of Eragon as a series, it was obvious from his encouragement that the author was relying on fan .
As if this wasn't evidenced enough that fan sentiment helped bring this idea into development, Paolini thanked fans in a avoid the mistakes from the Eragon movie.
Eragon Will Be Made Exclusively For Disney+
With Lemony Snicket'sHis Dark Materials, Disney's streaming service is comparably lacking in big-budget young adult fantasy series despite some great TV offerings overall.
That's why it's good news for both fans of the Inheritance Cycle series and subscribers to the streaming service that the series is being made for Disney+, which was revealed when Variety first broke the story in July. Furthermore, 20th Century Television, formerly known as 20th Century Fox Television, was revealed to be producing, meaning the show looks to be in safe hands.
Christopher Paolini Will Be Co-Writing The Series
One of the biggest issues fans had with the 2006 movie Eragon was that it could only claim to be a loose adaptation of the novel, with Paolini seemingly having little involvement. That's why it was a hugely promising sign for the series when Paolini announced the role he would be playing in the series' production in his Twitter announcement.
Not only will the author be co-writing the series, meaning it's likely to be a lot more true to his majestic vision that led to the novel series' success, but he will also be taking on a producer role. For fans of the author, that's reason enough to be excited on its own, as his greater involvement is only likely to be a good thing and allow fans to subside their anger from the terrible movie adaptation.
Percy Jackson's Bert Salke Is Producing
The Eragon series would likely have drawn parallels with the Disney+ adaptation of Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson and the Olympians novels, with both being high-profile young adult series that failed to spawn successful movie franchises. But another detail links the two even more closely.
Both are being produced by Bert Salke, who is also credited as a consulting director on the young adult novel adaptations can be incredibly lucrative, Salke's choice of projects indicates he's someone keenly interested in bringing fan-favorite projects to the screen.
The Series Could Adapt The Entire Inheritance Cycle Series
Though the movie adaptation of Eragon was also intended to bring all the books of the Inheritance Cycle to life before mediocre ticket sales and poor reviews put an end to that idea, fans haven't given up on the idea of seeing the entire series adapted for the screen.
Luckily, every sign so far has suggested that this is an ambition the show may be able to fulfill. In his announcement on Twitter, Paolini specifically states that he's "looking forward to making the best possible Eragon/Inheritance Cycle adaptation." Though it's unlikely the first season will stretch in scope beyond the first novel, its potential success seems like the best chance of seeing the full series finally given the adaptation it deserves.
Paolini Was Rumored To Be The Showrunner
Whilst early reports suggested that Paolini would also be acting as showrunner for the Disney+ series, Variety later issued a statement that no such decision had been made yet, with development still being in an extremely early stage. Instead, outlets, including Deadline, have reported that Salke is still looking for a showrunner/partner to develop the series with.
Changing showrunner can be a risky move for TV shows, but, whilst this might initially seem like a source of disappointment for fans who hoped that Paolini would have as much creative control as possible, it could end up being a reason to be even more excited about the show. Paolini has never acted as a showrunner on production before, and leaving the role open allows for the possibility of more exciting announcements in the future.
