Tulsa Kingstar Garrett Hedlund thinks his 2006 fantasy movieEragon, which grossed $250 million,has seen its franchise potential wasted after 19 years without a sequel.
Dragons would later become all the rage thanks toGame of Thrones, but Disney’sEragongot there first, bringing novelist Christopher Paolini’s telepathic firebreather Saphira to life, with plans to adapt the other books in Paolini’s series.
ButDisney’sEragonfranchise planswere sadly derailed when the film met with bad reviews and lukewarm box office returns. 19 years later, those plans could be back on,as Disney+ is reported to be developing a series adaptation of Paolini’sInheritance Cyclecollection.
This should come as good news toTulsa Kingstar Hedlund, who recently reminisced about his experiences acting inEragon,telling a panel at FanX’s Atlanta Comic Convention that he was hoping the film would spawn a franchise, and is disappointed that it did not(viaCollider):
“It makes you smile when you take other things for granted. So that journey was a wonderful one. It’s a shame we couldn’t continue on with it because it came down to cash.”
What This Means For Eragon
Hedlund Could Return For The Series
Eragonauthor Paolini re-started talk of a Disney+ series back in February when he took to social media to offer an encouraging update, revealing that he is in the middle of negotiations, with a major contract yet to sign (viaX).
Rachel Weisz gave voice to Sephira in 2006’sEragon.
Development on theEragonseries was first announced back in 2022, but there has been very little further news on the project. Meanwhile, Dreamworks has seen its owndragon-centric franchiseHow to Train Your Dragontake off at the box office. 2025’s live-actionHTTYDis currently the fifth-highest grossing film of the year, having taken in $589 million worldwide.
Hedlund’s recent nostalgic remarks about his experience onEragon, coupled with his frustration over not getting to make the other planned movies,could indicate his willingness to take on a role in a new Disney+ series adaptation of Paolini’s books.
Our Take On Hedlund Wanting An Eragon Franchise
Book Fans Hated The Original Movie, But Might Enjoy A Series
Hedlund may have enjoyed his experience working onEragon, but almost no one liked the movie itself, a fact driven home by the film’s 15% critics’ rating and 46% audience rating onRotten Tomatoes. Fans of Paolini’s books were particularly hard onEragon, slamming it for deviating from the source material, for bad CGI, and for unconvincing performances.
But 19 years later, Disney can have anEragondo-over, via their streaming service. They can properly adapt Paolini’s books this time around, using the series format to really delve into their world-building and characters. Perhaps more importantly, current CGI can be deployed to make dragons that live up to book fans’ imaginings.
Disney may have failed to get the dragon bandwagon rolling back in 2006, but afterGame of ThronesandHow to Train Your Dragonmade mythical flying firebreathers cool, they can make up for 19 years of sleeping on a potentialEragonfranchise.
Eragon
Cast
Eragonis based on the book series of the same name, part of a more extensive book series known as the Inheritance Cycle. In his homeland of Alagaesia, a farm boy named Eragon (Ed Speelers) happens upon a dragon’s egg. This egg leads him on a journey to protect his home from tyrannical monarch Galbatorix (John Malkovitch) and a dark sorcerer named Durza (Robert Carlyle). However, Eragon discovers that the egg contains a mighty dragon named Saphira (Rachel Weisz) that he bonds with, and with the help of friends and family, Eragon will challenge the empire and do what he can to keep the dragon safe.
