Film
Aerial photography of the Ság Mountain, which served as the backdrop for Farthen Dûr in the film adaptation of the book.A film adaptation of Eragon was released in the United States on December 15, 2006. Plans to create the film were first announced in February 2004, when 20th Century Fox purchased the rights to Eragon. The film was directed by first-timer Stefen Fangmeier, and written by Peter Buchman.[25] Edward Speleers was selected for the role of Eragon.[26] Over the following months, Jeremy Irons, John Malkovich, Chris Egan and Djimon Hounsou were all confirmed as joining the cast.[27] Principal photography for the film took place in Hungary and Slovakia.[28]
The film received mostly negative reviews, garnering a 16% approval rating at Rotten Tomatoes;[29] the tenth worst of 2006.[30] The Seattle Times described it as "technically accomplished, but fairly lifeless and at times a bit silly".[31] The Hollywood Reporter said the world of Eragon was "without much texture or depth".[32] The story was labelled "derivative" by The Washington Post,[33] and "generic" by the Las Vegas Weekly.[34] Newsday stressed this point further, asserting that only "nine-year-olds with no knowledge whatsoever of any of the six Star Wars movies" would find the film original.[35] The acting was called "lame" by the Washington Post,[33] as well as "stilted" and "lifeless" by the Orlando Weekly.[36] The dialogue was also criticized: MSNBC labelled it "silly";[37] the Las Vegas Weekly called it "wooden".[34] Positive reviews described the film as "fun"[38] and "the stuff boys' fantasies are made of".[39] The CGI work was called "imaginative" and Saphira was called a "magnificent creation".[40] Paolini stated he enjoyed the film, particularly praising the performances of Jeremy Irons and Ed Speleers.[41]
Eragon grossed approximately $75 million in the United States and $173.9 million elsewhere, totaling $249 million worldwide.[42] It is the fifth highest-grossing film with a dragon at its focal point,[43] and the sixth highest-grossing film of the sword and sorcery subgenre.[44] Eragon was in release for seventeen weeks in the United States, opening on December 15, 2006, and closing on April 9, 2007.[45] It opened in 3,020 theaters, earning $8.7 million on opening day and $23.2 million across opening weekend, ranking second behind The Pursuit of Happyness.[46] Eragon's $75 million total United States gross was the thirty-first highest for 2006.[47] The film earned $150 million in its opening weekend across 76 overseas markets, making it the #1 film worldwide.[48] The film's $249 million total worldwide gross was the sixteenth highest for 2006.[49]
Television series
In June 2021, Christopher Paolini tweeted #EragonRemake in an effort to get Disney, the intellectual rights holders following their acquisition of 21st Century Fox, to revamp the book series into a possible television show for Disney+. Within hours, the hashtag began to trend with fans pushing for a proper adaptation.[50] On July 25, 2022, Variety reported that a live action television series adaptation of Eragon was in early development for Disney+, with Paolini serving as a co-writer on the series, and with Bert Salke executive producing.[51]
Video game
A video game adaptation of Eragon based primarily on the film, released in North America on November 14, 2006. The game is a third-person video game released for PlayStation 2, Xbox, Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows, developed by Stormfront Studios. Also released are unique versions of Eragon for the Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, PlayStation Portable, and mobile phone handheld gaming systems, primarily developed by Amaze Entertainment. The console and PC versions of the game are very similar, focusing on the same style of gameplay. However, the Xbox 360 edition features two exclusive levels. One is on foot as Eragon, and Saphira is controlled in the second mission.
The game has received generally negative reviews usually receiving press averages around 4–6 out of 10 (or equivalent), according to review aggregator sites Metacritic and GameRankings. The combined sales in North America were over 400,000 copies.
The majority of the game is taken up by third-person combat, usually on foot. Some missions permit the player to use the dragon Saphira in combat. The gameplay mechanics within these levels are largely similar to those in ground-based levels, with the exception of some different attack moves (such as tail attacks). Protagonist Eragon sits on Saphira's back during these sections, and can be made to fire magic arrows. The player has no choice as to whether or not they use Saphira. Similarly, the player cannot use Saphira in ground-based levels: they can call for her and she will swoop past, but it is not possible to use this feature to ride Saphira. There is a multiplayer co-op mode which allows two people to play through the main storyline. It is possible to switch from playing a one-player game to a two-player game at any time. There are no Internet multiplayer options.
