What’s the status of the Eragon TV show on Disney+?

It’s been a while since the big announcement: Disney is rebooting Eragon, this time as a television series for its streaming platform! 

Now that the Disney+ Eragon show has been announced, some may be wondering: what’s the latest and what’s next? Today we’ll discuss the next steps in the show’s development, but we’d like to preface this by stating that we don’t know exactly how far along the project is.

 It’s important to remember that the Eragon TV show was announced well before anyone would have preferred for it to have been. Christopher confirmed in his statement that the adaptation news was an unplanned announcement, meaning a source likely leaked the news. This would seem to suggest that Disney was not ready to announce the show, indicating that the series is still in its very early stages. Typically, TV shows aren’t unveiled until a showrunner and several producers have joined the project.

Where things stand:

Christopher Paolini’s involvement: The author will co-write and produce the show – key to a reboot fans will love. We know that Fox didn’t offer Christopher the opportunity to participate in the development of the Eragon movie – which, while depressing (and led to the movie’s many failures), isn’t entirely uncommon in the industry. In many cases, authors have little to no input in their books’ adaptations. The fact that Disney has Christopher involved in writing in producing is a great sign for the quality we can expect this time around!

Other team members: Bert Salke, a Hollywood veteran who is also working on Disney’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians adaptation, is executive producing the show. 

Recent examples of Disney adaptations: The Percy Jackson television show has involved author Rick Riordan, who has so far sung the praises of the team behind the adaptation. When the series cast was announced, fan reaction was overwhelmingly positive, largely because Disney stuck true to the heart of the book’s characters. More recently, a teaser trailer was released and fans were ecstatic. It seems as though Disney’s attempt at a faithful adaptation of the Percy Jackson universe is going well!

What’s next:

The hunt for a showrunner: The hunt for a showrunner is ongoing. The show cannot move forward without this critical role filled. What’s a showrunner? This individual is the creative leader and manager responsible for overseeing all aspects of a TV series. They shape the show’s overall vision, develop storylines and write episodes alongside writers and producers, and coordinate various production elements such as direction, acting, and editing. Showrunners make critical decisions about the show’s tone, ensuring consistency throughout the series.

Writing the pilot: Once a showrunner is chosen, they’ll focus on staffing the show with additional writers and producers. However, this process ground to a halt with the Writers Guild of America going on strike in May 2023. Writers can’t be hired, and anyone currently involved in the project as a writer – Christopher included – is barred from writing anything for the series until the strike is resolved.

When the strike ends, work will resume on a script for the first episode, referred to in the industry as a “pilot,” which would be turned over to the existing show team and executives at Disney for approval. It isn’t uncommon for notes to be given, requiring a revision to the script and another round of approval.

Down the line:

In a future article, we’ll explore what comes once a pilot is written and the full timeline of the various processes leading up to a show’s release. These steps include:

• Show order
• Worldbuilding
• Location scouting
• Casting
• Filming