Look out, 'Game of Thrones': Disney+ getting into the dragon action with 'Eragon' series

Disney+ launched with two major franchises, Star Wars and the MCU, firmly in its corner. Ever since then, the House of Mouse's streaming service has worked to keep adding more and more major genre names to its catalog, with series based on Willow and Percy Jackson and the Olympians already on the way. Now, we can perhaps add Eragon to that list. 

Variety reports that the streamer is in "early development" on a new series based on Christopher Paolini's "Inheritance Cycle" of epic fantasy novels, which began with Eragon in 2002. Paolini himself is reportedly on board as a co-writer on the project, but at this stage it's too early to tell if the series, titled Eragon, will move forward. 

Eragon tells the story of the title character, a farm boy who befriends a newly hatched dragon named Sephira. As his bond with Sephira deepens, Eragon discovers that he's actually a Dragon Rider, part of an order of warriors previously thought to be wiped out by the evil King Galbatorix. Together with Sephira, he begins training to be a warrior himself, and sets out to defeat the king and restore peace to his homeland. Paolini, still a teenager when Eragon was first published, self-published the first novel initially, but the story eventually caught the eye of Alfred A. Knopf publishers, and the entire series eventually became a mega-bestseller in the post-Harry Potter boom of fantasy novels for young adults. Three move novels in the series, Eldest, Brisingr, and Inheritance, followed over the next decade, and to date the series has sold more than 40 million books around the world. 

Eragon proved so popular after its wide publication that it was soon adapted into a feature film, 2006's Eragon, starring Ed Speleers in the title role and featuring Rachel Weisz, John Malkovich, and Jeremy Irons as major supporting players. Originally conceived as a franchise-starter, the film was poorly received and sequels were shelved. 

Now, it seems Disney has seen the potential behind Paolini's tale for launching a new fantasy saga on streaming screens, at a time when HBO is busy with Game of Thrones, Netflix continues to drop episodes of The Witcher and Shadow and Bone, and Amazon's juggling both The Wheel of Time and the upcoming The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. It'll be very interesting to see if Eragon can make the journey to the screen once again, and what an adaptation might look like 20 years after its publication. 

Looking for more fantasy adventures in the meantime? Check out the Harry Potter film series streaming now on Peacock.