Author Christopher Paolini has long been agitating for a new screen version of his fantasy novel Eragon. Now he’s getting his wish.
Disney+ is working on a television adaptation of the novel and its three sequels, Variety reports, with Paolini on board as a co-writer.
Paolini self-published Eragon, which follows a young farmhand who befriends a dragon named Saphira; it was republished by Knopf in 2003. It’s the first installment in what Paolini calls the Inheritance Cycle, which also includes Eldest, Brisingr, and Inheritance.
Eragon was adapted into a film, directed by Stefen Fangmeier, in 2006. The movie, with a cast that included Jeremy Irons, Joss Stone, and John Malkovich, was a modest box office hit but critically reviled, with reviewers calling it “painful,” “desperately dull,” and “easily one of the worst movies of the year.”
Last year, Paolini launched a social media campaign urging Disney to remake the film, using the hashtag #EragonRemake. “We’re already trending!” he tweeted. “Get those numbers up, folks! Let’s show them the power of this fully operational fandom! Ahahaha!”
Paolini celebrated the news about the television adaptation on Twitter, writing, “So, all I can say at the moment is...thank you. Thank you to everyone who has read the books, supported the tweetstorms, and participated in this fandom. None of this would have happened without you Alagaësians.”
So, all I can say at the moment is ... thank you. Thank you to everyone who has read the books, supported the tweetstorms, and participated in this fandom. None of this would have happened without you Alagaësians. https://t.co/wxJpo8ZKal
— Christopher Paolini (@paolini) July 26, 2022
Michael Schaub, a journalist and regular contributor to NPR, lives near Austin, Texas.