Eragon (stylized in all lowercase) is a 2006 fantasy adventure film directed by Stefen Fangmeier (in his directorial debut) and written by Peter Buchman, loosely based on Christopher Paolini's 2002 novel of the same name.

It stars Ed Speleers in the title role as well as Jeremy Irons, Sienna Guillory, Robert Carlyle, Djimon Hounsou, Garrett Hedlund, Joss Stone, and John Malkovich, with Rachel Weisz as Saphira the dragon.

Originally, Eragon was supposed to be the first in a franchise based on Paolini's Inheritance Cycle book series, with Fangmeirer shooting both Eldest and Brisingr back-to-back.

Eons ago, in the land of Alagaësia, an order called the Dragon Riders was created to oversee the countries and bring peace to the world.

Arya, princess of the elf kingdom, Ellesméra, flees with a strange stone while being pursued by a dark sorcerer, Durza working for Galbatorix.

Eragon, a poor farm boy living in the country with his uncle, Garrow, and cousin, Roran, is hunting when he witnesses the stone appearing.

Hoping to trade it for food, Eragon brings the stone home but realizes it is actually an egg when a blue dragon hatches from it.

Brom shows up, takes Eragon away from the village, warns him of Saphira's importance, and urges him to call her back.

In a small village, Eragon meets a fortune-telling witch named Angela, who tells him of Arya and a dangerous path toward future battles ahead.

Durza leads Galbatorix's forces and attacks the rebels' base, and Eragon, Saphira, and Arya join the battle.

Buchman, a fan of fantasy and science fiction literature and films, says he was "blown away" by the author's precociousness, his mastery of plot lines and characters, and his ability to create several completely imaginary worlds.

Over the following months, Jeremy Irons, John Malkovich, Chris Egan, and Djimon Hounsou were all confirmed as joining the Eragon cast.

Paolini, author of the original novel, had expressed his wishes to be featured in a cameo role in the film — specifically, as a warrior who is beheaded in the battle of Farthen Dûr.

[11] Jean Bolte, lead viewpaint artist for ILM on the film, calls them "skethers" (half-feathers, half-scales) and was inspired by the scales of the pangolin.

The video game based on the motion picture was developed by Stormfront Studios and Amaze Entertainment and was released in November 2006.

[22] This was attributed to the sheer scope of Eragon's global launch as the film ranked number 1 in fewer than half of the overseas territories it was released in.

[23] The foreign box office competition for the film's opening week was "soft;"[24] had Eragon been released one year earlier, it would have been placed fourth.

[25] Eragon's UK opening was "a disappointment,"[23] in Australia it was "solid if unimpressive,"[23] but its most impressive market was France,[26] where the film earned more than $21 million.

The consensus reads "Eragon is a fantasy epic that lacks any magic, brought down to earth by unconvincing world-building and a litany of stars who seem bemused by the material.

[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.

"[40] Christopher Paolini stated he enjoyed the film, particularly praising the performances of Jeremy Irons and Ed Speleers.