The Eagle of the Ninth Legion ( The Eagle ) is aBritish-American peplum directed by Kevin Macdonald . This is an adaptation of the novel The Eagle of the Ninth Legion ( The Eagle of the Ninth ) by Rosemary Sutcliff , itself inspired by a historical enigma, the supposed disappearance of the ninth Roman legion in northern Scotland at the beginning ofii th century AD 1 . The film was released on February 11, 2011 in the United States 2 .