Disney introduced Flynn Rider, a.k.a. Eugene Fitzherbert, in 2010’s Tangled. The smug rogue who became Rapunzel’s partner-in-crime carved out a space among Disney’s pantheon of handsome animated guys. Since then he’s appeared in the excellent animated show Tangled: The Series. And now, Flynn Rider is the star of his own book. Nerdist is happy to exclusively announce the first book in Disney’s new Lost Legends series. Behold, Lost Legends: The Rise of Flynn Rider by Jen Calonita. And we have the cover reveal, too.
Disney-Hyperion
That illustration is adorable.
Lost Legends is a new middle grade series featuring the adventures of Disney’s most lovable roguish heroes as kids. And as mentioned above this first installment is all about Flynn Rider. Allow us to share the official synopsis:
Twelve- year-old Eugene Fitzherbert needs a plan. It’s not that he doesn’t love his time in the orphanage that raised him—Miss Clare and the boys are his family. As is his best friend, Arnie, with whom he’s often in cahoots, acting out passages from his favorite Flynnigan Rider books, or pretending they’re Lance Archer, the iconic thief who takes from the rich to give to the poor. But Eugene knows that most orphans his age set off to make their own way, and the orphanage already doesn’t have the means to support them all. Besides, he wants to see the world with Arnie, and maybe, just maybe find his parents someday.So when a traveling circus comes to the kingdom promising a life of adventure, brotherhood, and riches, Eugene jumps at the chance to join them. He even convinces Arnie to come too. But soon it becomes clear that there’s more to this ragtag crew than meets the eye, and they may have a dubious plot in the works. It’ll take new heroes—namely, Flynn Rider and Lance Strongbow, to save the day.
Getting in the head of one Eugene Fitzherbert took a little research. Author Jen Calonita tells Nerdist, “I had Tangled on a permanent loop playing in the background while I wrote this book! I could hear Flynn in my head with every line, which was so much fun. But my best Eugene/Flynn info came from Chris Sonnenburg, the executive director/creator of Tangled: The Series. Any time I had a question about Flynn, I could text him and he’d immediately reply with the most amazing backstories and information!”
Lost Legends: The Rise of Flynn Rider arrives on shelves on September 21, 2021.
Amy Ratcliffe is the Managing Editor for Nerdist and the author of A Kid’s Guide to Fandom, available for pre-order now. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram.
