In February 2010, fans of the latest-and-greatest young-adult fantasy-adventure novel series gathered at box offices all over the country to watch the premiere of the next cult classic YA thriller twisted into an inadequate film adaptation.
The film, Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, adapted from the book series Percy Jackson, promised all the mystique of an early-2000s movie marketed to teens consumed by their unforeseen fascination with mythology, magic, and 'Chosen One' protagonists (a theme that was becoming remarkably popular around this time).
Scott Tobias from NRP wrote in his article, "Percy Jackson Brings Daddy Issues to Mt. Olympus," "With the Harry Potter franchise in its twilight, the market has officially opened up for kid-friendly fantasy movies featuring precocious wizardry, mythical creatures and titles of marquee-busting breadth."
The Percy Jackson film franchise was just one of many book-to-film projects to fill—but not necessarily satisfy this desire.
Promotional poster for 'Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief', including Logan Lerman (center), Alexandra Daddario (right), and Brandon T. Jackson (left).
The success of American author (San Antonio, Texas native as well as former middle school English and history teacher) Rick Riordan's bestselling series, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, was undeniable. The first installment of the series, Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief hit the shelves in the summer of 2005, and within that same year, the debut that marked the soon-to-be pentalogy had already sold over 1.2 million copies worldwide.
Lightning Thief received relentlessly positive reviews from parents, teachers, librarians, kids, and critics alike. The New York Times's Bestseller (also Rick Riordan's first young adult novel) was acclaimed for the unique presence it harbored in the literary world.
About the Percy Jackson Series
Percy Jackson and the Olympians centers around the young New York native, Percy Jackson, who has been in-and-out of several schools due to apparent "disciplinary problems" paired with his learning disabilities, and who generally feels like an outcast.
However, Percy soon learns that there is an underlying cause for his societal outstanding...He is a descendant of the Greek god, Poseidon. This subsequently thrusts him into a life of dangerous quests, fighting off perilous monsters, and living with his fellow half-mortal campers at Camp Halfblood—a secret training center for young demigods feigning to be an ordinary summer camp.
Rick Riordan's books are praised not only for their blend of traditional Greek mythology with modern and exhilarating storytelling—but also for their astounding diversity. Most campers at Camp Half-Blood (including Percy himself) have forms of ADHD, ADD, and/or dyslexia.
This stems from the fact that the Percy Jackson series was actually the product of bedtime stories Rick Riordan used to tell his son, Haley Riordan. Haley, at the time, had recently been diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia and was having a difficult time with schoolwork and reading. However, Haley's class started a unit on Greek mythology, and he became fascinated with it.
He asked his father to retell some of the classic Greek myths. When Rick Riordan ran out of traditional myths to tell, he improvised, and thus, Percy Jackson was born.
Cover for the fifth and final installment of the 'Percy Jackson' book series, 'The Last Olympian', released in May 2009.
But Percy Jackson didn't just contain representation for those who are neurodiverse.With the progression of the Percy Jackson series, Rick Riordan began making strides in the inclusivity of his writing (which would later fan out and become bolder and more prominent throughout his multiple other series, each of which presented different mythologies with a twenty-first-century twist).
In the Percy Jackson series alone, many characters come from broken families—either grappling with divorce, half brothers and siblings, step-parents and step-siblings, death(s) in the family, abuse, addiction, or some sort of combination. In fact, the protagonist Percy Jackson himself lived multiple depressing years in a run-down apartment with his sweet and empathetic mother, Sally Jackson, and his insufferable and abusive stepfather, Gabe Ugliano (whom his mother reluctantly married after her love—and Percy's father Poseidon—was forced to return to sea.
Their marriage was an effort on Sally's part to conceal Percy's demigod status from luring monsters by covering him with the "stench" of mortals).
Between the contemporary and thrilling perspective on Greek myths and versatile characters that resonated with them, it is easy to understand why fans of Rick Riordan's first middle-grade series would anxiously await the movie release date after it was revealed that the Percy Jackson books would be receiving film adaptations.
Promotional poster for the second 'Percy Jackson' film, 'Sea of Monsters' (2013)
Perhaps even more exciting, it was announced that Chris Columbus, who directed the film adaptations for Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, would be at the helm of the project. This was exciting news during a time when the demand for teen fantasy-thrillers was raging like wildfire. Because of Columbus' previous work, the Percy Jackson films had seemingly great promise and potential.
However, this proved to not be the case. Soon after Percy Jackson & the Olympians: Lightning Thief (2010) made its box office debut, a floodgate of critical reviews was opened.
Official character art for the protagonist of 'Percy Jackson and the Olympians', Percy Jackson, illustrated by Victoria Ridzel.
The most common complaint amongst fans of the original, eponymous book series was that the film served as an inadequate—even blatantly terrible—adaptation of the novels.
While it is expected of directors and writers to make revisions when creating a film adaptation for a novel or book series that may impact the original story—the Percy Jackson films seemed to completely tarnish Rick Riordan's authorial intentions.
Devout fans of Rick Riordan's novels left scathing remarks against the film's obvious alterations—alterations such "aging up" the characters (directly affecting the story), an anti-climactic reveal of the antagonists' plan, petty grievances between the gods leading to overdramatic and unjustified fights, "water-downed" character arcs, rushed relationships, and absence of important plot developments.
While fans were initially excited to see a cinematic rendition of their favorite New York-native-demigod hit the big screen, the accompanying film franchise for the Percy Jackson novels proved to be a poor heir to the name.
Those that loved the series dearly (both fans and the author, Rick Riordan, himself) largely saw the film franchise as a disgraceful rendition, saturated by poor marketing and writing choices. The Percy Jackson film franchise was widely regarded as one of the worst movie adaptations for a book series—to such an intensity that even those who didn't read the books were aware of the films' reputation.
(From left to right) Brandon T. Jackson, Logan Lerman, and Alexandra Daddario in the middle of a scene for 'The Lightning Thief'.
While Percy Jackson's original cinematic debut may have been soured, the beloved demigod and his fellow campers have recently received an exciting opportunity for a second chance on the silver-screen—from a respected company that both Rick Riordan and fans have had their eyes on (in at first solely optimistic hopes) for years.
After a plethora of fan campaigns, a few instances of 'Percy Jackson' trending on Twitter, and the beneficial acquiring of rights to 20th Century Fox in 2019—Disney now owns the film rights to the unorthodox protagonist, Percy Jackson, and his accompanying crew and intends to produce a live-action series available to stream on Disney+ in the coming years.
Now, almost a decade later, the Percy Jackson series may achieve salvation in the cinematic world. So what do we know about Percy Jackson's cinematic revival and redemption so far?
1) Rick Riordan Will Have More Influence
Rick Riordan presenting his latest book in 'The Heroes of Olympus' series, 'The Mark of Athena' on October 7, 2012 at Temple Judea in Miami, Florida.
While it is not unusual for authors to have little input in the direction of the film(s) derived from their books, Rick Riordan's situation was unique when it came to the movie adaptations of Percy Jackson, in that the book wasn't even complete before 20st Century Fox swooped in to claim the filming rights.
In 2004, Fox caught wind of Rick Riordan's manuscript and made an offer. After Disney (who published the Percy Jackson book series under Disney-Hyperion) declined interest in producing films for the eponymous series that they published, Riordan decided that this would be the best offer he received.
He accepted. And immediately regretted his decision.
In a post on his official author website reflecting on his perspective and experiences during the development and filming of the Percy Jackson movies, Riordan stated blatantly, "... like most authors, my contract was very standard in that Hollywood controls all things and all decisions about the movie. The author may or may not be consulted, but the movie folks have final say on everything."
Given the films' jolting diversion from the original acclaimed middle-grade series, it's obvious that Rick Riordan was scarcely consulted regarding his authorial view of and intentions for his stories and characters.
Rick Riordan's response to a fan's question regarding the Percy Jackson & the Olympians (2010) movie after its Disney+ release in 2020.
Ever since reading initial script for the first film over a decade ago, Riordan has been ardent about his distaste for the films, comparing their conception to "watching [his] life's work go through a meat grinder" in a recent June 2020 tweet.
Prior and subsequent to the releases of Lightning Thief (2010) and Sea of Monster (2013), Rick Riordan gained an extensive and fervent resume of actions opposing the film. Some of his most notable actions include writing a passionate and sardonic letter to teachers pleading with them to not show their students the films while studying Greek mythology (even going as far as to call the films a "mind-numbing punishment" for students and suggesting humorous alternatives), requesting that a blank screen be played for the films' entireties on Disney+, writing pleading emails to producers during Lightning Thief's early development, offering to rewrite the script himself, and even openly admitting to never seeing the movies (even years later) because it is "too painful".
Rick Riordan's frequently-used author and profile picture.
Luckily, though he previously believed he wouldn't during times when a Percy Jackson reboot was still "hypothetical", it seems Riordan will have not only more influence on the series' direction—but heavy influence. In a statement made via Twitter, Riordan stated " Rest assured that Becky & I will be involved in person in every aspect of the how".
2. Fans on Twitter May Have Contributed to the Series' Confirmation
disney doesn’t understand the Power of this fandom. we hated the official art so much, we /literally got a fan artist to become the official artist/. we hated the movies so much and directed all of our love to the musical and it went on BROADWAY. #DisneyAdaptPercyJackson
— gigi 🍓shoutocake (@theislandsong) December 11, 2019
Since the films' debuts in the early 2010s, fans of the original Percy Jackson book series have been just as adamant about the disappointment the movies invoke as the Texan author they frequently-and-affectionately refer to as "Uncle Rick". The hatred for the films only became more prominent as fans of the series grew older, social media platforms grew in influence, and the loyal fan base realized how far their campaigns could spread.
Over the past decade, fans have done tremendous work to express their dissatisfaction, many fans even spending years advocating for a reboot. One petition on Change.org in particular rallying support for a Percy Jackson "TV Show" received 3,000+ signatures in approximately three months.
Similar petitions seemed to hold the same general and consistent ideals for the reboot: Rick Riordan would have more influence; the show would have approximately five seasons, each season dedicated to (or at least roughly-dedicated to) its corresponding book; and the characters will remain their original, canonical age.
With the stipulation of seasons, this made Disney+ the perfect candidate for hosting the series after its November 2019 debut, especially considering Disney acquired the rights to 21st Century Fox that same year in March.
Percy Jackson becoming mainstream in the industry despite Disney not confirming the TV show yet. It just has THAT power #DisneyAdaptPercyJackson pic.twitter.com/SWoXAOw4Fj
— 𝐉𝐨𝐥𝐭 ⚡ (@JAIchemist) December 11, 2019
The majority of fans attempted to keep a realistic mindset despite these realizations, given Riordan's past assertions that "The merger..does not mean that I will have any more...influence over what Disney decides to do or not do with [the rights to Percy Jackson] than I did with Fox".
However, in December 2019, the excitement and apprehension of fans drastically increased when Riordan posted a picture of himself in what seemed to be a meeting with executives at Disney+.
Rick Riordan holding up a Disney+ button pin and wearing a Walt Disney identification card in what appears to be a meeting with Disney+ executives/producers.
After it became apparent that a Disney+ Original Series adaptation of Percy Jackson may legitimately be confirmed, ecstatic fans took to Twitter in a wave of support and persuasion for Disney to go through with the producing the series, spawning the viral hashtag, #DisneyAdaptPercyJackson. While Percy Jackson had trended on Twitter several times throughout the years, this specific instance was particularly notable because the hashtag actually gained the #1 spot on trending worldwide for trending topics that day.
THE PJO FANDOM IS SO IN DESERVING OF A TV ADAPATATION??? LIKE WE’VE BEEN DREAMING AND TALKING ABOUT IT FOR YEARS AND NOW IT CAN FINALLY HAPPEN???#DisneyAdaptPercyJackson pic.twitter.com/dsJQDWeK63
— yan! (@vapaad) December 11, 2019
Fans were even more ecstatic when, approximately five months later (on May 14th, 2020), Rick Riordan posted an 18-second-long video with his wife, Becky, to officially announce that Percy Jackson would be receiving a live-action reboot with the help of the streaming platform, Disney+!
Rick Riordan showed his gratitude for fans' persistence in a statement made on his official website in conjunction with he and his wife's announcement video: "Hey Percy Jackson fans, for the past decade, you’ve worked hard to champion a faithful on-screen adaptation of Percy [Jackson]...Buckle up, demigods. It’s going to be a fantastic, exciting ride!"
3. The Series Will Have Five Seasons (One for Each Book)
Original 'Percy Jackson and the Olympians' book series box set.
Rick Riordan penned a pentalogy of books for his series, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, only two of which saw fruition as film adaptations—Lightning Thief (2010) and Sea of Monsters (2013).
Struggling with a culmination of "tepid reviews and a middling box office performance", repudiating actions from fans and the author alike, and scraping together collective earnings from international tickets just to stay afloat—chances for an adaptation of Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Titan's Curse were pretty much all but demolished.
The discontinuation not only left fans dissatisfied with the films they received, but dissatisfied with the amount of cinematic adaptation they received. When petitions for a reboot began emerging online, a popular request from fans was to see a more ideal format for the beloved book series: Five seasons (one for each book), one book per season, roughly one chapter covered per episode.
Luckily, it seems this idealistic, fan-suggested layout may have been confirmed by Rick Riordan himself at his Trials of Apollo tour event at Blue Willow Bookshop, according to a fan and Reddit user with the username KingGreyStone555 who claims to have attended the event and taken a photo of a presentation Riordan made in which the author seemingly confirmed the one-book-per-season premise, subtitles on the screen seemingly interpreting the author saying "...That will give us time to really do it right."
Not only will this Game-of-Thrones-esque layout ensure each book receives an adaptation, but it will ensure that the pacing and plot remain "in-tact".
4. Logan Lerman May Make an Appearance
A recent photo of Logan Lerman, who played Percy Jackson in 'Lightning Thief' (2010) and 'Sea of Monsters' (2013).
While the Percy Jackson films overall were poorly-received, it's important not to hold the actors and actresses responsible for the mishaps of the production team and directors.
Rick Riordan has passionately driven this point over the years, even defending the cast in a recent tweet in response to a fan, stating, "... I certainly have nothing against the very talented actors. Not their fault. I'm just sorry they got dragged into that mess."
While the movies themselves were disappointing, fans of the Percy Jackson novels weren't necessarily disappointed with the actors/actresses' performances. In fact, Brandon T. Jackson—who played Grover Underwood, the beloved satyr friend and consistent-quest-companion of Percy Jackson—in particular was highly-acclaimed for his performance. Prompted by the announcement of the Percy Jackson reboot, fans began recalling their past approval for the cast members' performances. Subsequently, some began fantasizing the possibility of the original actors and actresses returning to make cameos and appearances in the new series.
i said it once i’ll say it again, they better cast logan lerman as poseidon in the disney percy jackson live-action
— darth boredom (@aiman_mahadi_) February 5, 2021
While the actors/actresses of the 2011 and 2013 Percy Jackson films may be too old at this point to reprise their original roles, it is reasonable to say that not casting them in significant and recalling roles would be a missed opportunity on the production teams' part.
Many fans have collectively come to support the suggestion of allowing actors and actresses from the previous-and-disappointing Percy Jackson films to play parts in the news series that may reference their former characters. For instance, a popular campaign amongst fans at the moment is requesting that directors of the new Disney+ series invite Logan Lerman (who starred as Percy in both mid-2000s Percy Jackson films) to play the legendary sea god, Poseidon.
Given that Percy was the impermissible son of Poseidon, Logan Lerman receiving the role of Poseidon (his former on-screen persona's godly father) would be the perfect call-back for long-time fans of Rick Riordan and an honorable inheritance for the actor.
This idea, of course, is still a campaign made by fans. Lerman has not been officially been confirmed to be playing the nostalgically-symbolic role of Poseidon. However, the 29-year-old Beverly Hills native has expressed interest in returning afresh and posthumously (after the previous films' negative reception and downfall) to the Percy Jackson series over a decade later.
In a recent interview with Entertainment Tonight, Lerman acknowledged fans' support and campaigns and officially announced publicly that he'd be willing to work with Disney+ and Rick Riordan on the reboot. When asked about the possibility of playing the god of the sea, Lerman responded, "it...depends. It’s early right now, you know....they announced the development of this show.
I wonder when they will be ready to make it. They’ve got to approve scripts, budget it, and cast it....So, it could be a ways away for them....I’m curious if there would be a role that would be interesting for me...I’d definitely consider it".
5. Other Books and Characters May Be Introduced If The Series Does Well
A collage of Rick Riordan's "magnum opus", 'Percy Jackson and the Olympians' pictured with his multiple subsequent series, including 'The Heroes of Olympus', 'Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard', 'The Kane Chronicles', and 'The Trials of Apollo'.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians was not only Rick Riordan's launch into middle-grade fiction, but the debut was also the beginning of his lengthy bibliography of "mythology with modern-day characters and settings".
Since The Lightning Thief's 2005 book release, Rick Riordan has vastly expanded on his world of teenage, parentally-neglected demigods. In the last 15+ years, the "storyteller of the gods" has written approximately forty books, including several installments classified in five series preceding Percy Jackson and the Olympians, covering at least four other mythologies aside from the Greek legends incorporated in Percy Jackson (including Roman, Norse, and Egyptian).
Not only has Riordan successfully and artfully expanded on his world of titular demigods, but he has also interwoven their stories. Many cross paths during quests, or rely on each other for assistance—sharing a common bond and sense of empathy as children of the gods, no matter the class of cultural deities they come from.
Cover for 'The Staff of Serapis', the second installment in a short, three-book series Rick Riordan published from 2013-2016 in which the Kane siblings from 'The Kane Chronicles' meet characters from the 'Percy Jackson' series.
In recent years, Rick Riordan has written some interesting crossovers and interactions between characters. From 2013-2016, he published a short series where the siblings (Sadie and Carter) from his Egyptian mythology trilogy, The Kane Chronicles, meet several characters from the Percy Jackson series, even going on missions and quests together.
Apollo, who was the recently-vanquished god protagonist in The Trials of Apollo, turned to Percy Jackson and the demigods of Camp Half-blood for help on multiple occasions; and Magnus Chase from the Norse mythology-inspired tetralogy, Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, is actually canonically Annabeth Chase's cousin.
Given the versatility of Rick Riordan's universe paired with confirmed crossovers between the multiple characters, speculation and apprehension for series revolving around Riordan's other books or "cameo episodes" in the Disney+ Percy Jackson reboot have become widespread.
While it has not been confirmed yet whether we will see characters from Riordan's other series seep into the Percy Jackson reboot or not, there is certainly a possibility, however slight.
It is worth noting that the past year has been a great one for Rick Riordan and his franchise, especially in the sense of film adaptations. Not only did Percy Jackson receive a home and platform for a reboot at Disney+ in 2020, but it was also confirmed later in the year that Rick Riordan's Egyptian-mythology-inspired series, The Kane Chronicles would be receiving a show adaptation through Netflix.
While other series and overlapping episodes have not been confirmed yet, the possibility still stands—especially if the Percy Jackson and Kane Chronicles series do well.
6. Characters Will Remain Their Original, Intended Ages
Original character art of Percy, illustrated by Antonio Caparo (the original illustrations were poorly-received by fans, prompting Viktoria Ridzel's fanart to be named the official character art for 'Percy Jackson' after a surge of support from fellow fans).
Probably one of the most notable reasons for the discontinuation of the Percy Jackson films was a nagging issue that Rick Riordan himself pointed out to directors during pre-production and development: the characters' ages.
Seems there were questions yesterday over casting choices? Our script calls for a 12 year old #PercyJackson so aging up is not likely. Next steps mean securing a director for the pilot and finding a few writers to help develop the series. We are not to the casting phase yet!
— Becky Riordan (@camphalfblood) February 10, 2021
In many of Rick Riordan's series (including Percy Jackson), prophecies and imperative plot points rely on characters' ages. Specifically, in Percy Jackson, it is essential that Percy and many of the other main characters are 12 and/or 13-years-old. To adjust his (and the other campers') age(s), would be detrimental to the overarching story. Which is exactly what the films did.
The producers of the Percy Jackson & the Olympians films decided to "age-up" the beloved characters from 12-years-old to 17-years old—a business decision that Rick Riordan was quick to criticize in a series of imploring emails sent to the films writers. In the emails, which he released publicly on his website in 2018, Riordan attempted to persuade producers to consider two main factors regarding their decision to change his characters' ages: the possibility that making the characters older than intended would ruin the chances of subsequent sequels and the possibility that making the characters older would alienate the series' core audience.
Rick Riordan smiling with his wife, Becky Riordan.
In one of several emails, Rick Riordan writes : "...I understand that a decision has been made to age the main characters in the film to seventeen. As no one wants to see this film succeed more than I do, I hope you’ll let me share a couple of reasons why this is a bad idea from a money-making point of view...." He goes on to dispute, "... it kills any possibility of a movie franchise...The series is grounded on the premise that Percy must progress from age twelve to age sixteen, when according to a prophecy he must make a decision that saves or destroys the world."
In raising concerns about the films' potential to estrange Percy Jackson's primary audience, Riordan told producers bluntly: "...[making the characters older] alienates the core audience. I’m guessing those book sale numbers are important to [redacted name] because you’re hoping all those kids show up at the theater. The core readership for Percy Jackson is age 9-12.
There are roughly a million kids that age, plus their families, who are dying to see this film because they want to see the pictures in their imagination brought to life...They are keenly aware that Percy is twelve in the first book. By making the characters seventeen, you’ve lost those kids as soon as they see the...movie trailer. You signal that this is a teen film..."
Uma Thurman as Medusa acting in a scene with Logan Lerman (Percy Jackson) for the 2010 'Lightning Thief' film
While the directors' motives in increasing the characters' ages may have been to appeal to an older audience—a demographic that Rick Riordan acknowledged as a "powerful" one in his emails—devout fans agreed that the decision was unsavory. Even though those that grew up reading the Percy Jackson series may have been closer to the teen demographic at the time of Lightning Thief's cinematic debut, the majority of fans knew the importance of Percy's age.
Additionally, the same fans grew up with the characters in their book-form and thus nostalgically wanted to see them grow on the screen as well.
Thankfully, after Riordan and fans alike advocated strongly for the characters to return to their original, intended ages for the reboot—it seems that this request will become a reality for the Disney+ series.
7. The Pilot Episode is Currently in the Works
A picture of what appears to be the cover of a script for 'Percy Jackson & the Olympians', posted by Rick Riordan via Twitter on May 15th, 2020 with the caption "Hope you guys have a great weekend! I know I will. I have some work to do. 😃".
While the show still has an exponentially long way to go before it officially launches on Disney+ (though Rick Riordan and his wife, Becky, have both promised to provide updates) and those following the progression receive sparse updates—Rick Riordan did reveal something extremely interesting shortly after announcing the series.
On May 15th, 2020, Rick Riordan posted a picture of a document on his computer screen, which appears to be the cover of a script for the first episode of Percy Jackson. This would imply that not only is the pilot episode for the series currently in the works, but also that Rick Riordan will have heavy involvement with the writing and scripting of the series.
In a subsequent tweet made in June (shortly after Broadway musical, Hamilton's, Disney+ debut), Rick Riordan wrote, "We’re in the very earliest stages of #PERCYJACKSONDISNEYPLUS. I’m still working on the pilot script outline ATM. Way too soon for info on casting or anything else. But I am in the room where it happens, to quote the great @LIN_MANUEL, & will do my utmost to make you guys proud."
8. It Will Be a Lengthy Process
Rick Riordan responds to a fan asking about Percy Jackson's Disney+ debut date via Twitter, telling the fan that a release approximately two years from July 2020 would be his "most optimistic guess".
Producing a TV Show was already a lengthy process long before the outbreak of COVID-19 in early 2020. Now, any person or network that hopes to produce a show must consider the still-raging pandemic as a variable.
Despite all odds, many shows "[began] venturing back to their studios under enhanced safety protocols", with some production teams even dedicating episodes to COVID-19 and the lives it took and some even developing entirely new shows amidst the global pandemic.
Rick Riordan responds to exciting tweet made by his wife regarding an update on the pilot script of the Percy Jackson series with 'buldging eye' emojis.
It is clear that the recent and continuous pandemic has exponentially affected the world of cinema and forced many casts and crews to adapt.
Regardless of the reliable and relieving solutions that have now been discovered (such as vaccines), which will—with hope and due time—plateau the pandemic, many medical professionals have stated that it would be reckless to abandon all safety protocols out right. This means, consequently, that the production of films and shows will continue to be altered by COVID-19 and that production teams will have to protean methods of adapting if they hope to continue filming or premiering their shows.
Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson Disney+ reboot will be no exception to these obstacles and drastic changes. Fans (understandably-so after receiving severely-unsatisfactory film adaptations nearly a decade ago) may be extremely anxious to see the fruition of the new Percy Jackson reboot as quickly as possible, however, it is clear their apprehension may not be satisfied immediately. Rick Riordan himself has stated multiple times that he anticipates the development and eventual premiere of the reboot series to be a lengthy process.
A clip of Rick Riordan with his wife, Becky, from a video in which they officially announced the Percy Jackson Disney+ reboot.
Shortly after the initial announcement of the Disney+ Percy Jackson series, a fan mentioned Rick Riordan in a tweet to ask "When can we expect the show?" In response, Rick Riordan tweeted honestly, stating that his "most optimistic guess" would be approximately two years, adding a tentative "Maybe?" to the end of this statement. Rick Riordan cited three reasons for the inherent "delay": "it takes [him] about 6-12 months...to write a novel...by [himself]", "unknown factors like the pandemic", and the fact that producing "a Tv show is infinitely more complicated" than producing a book.
While the information we currently have on the Disney+ Percy Jackson may be sparse, Rick Riordan has assured fans of a few exciting things (equally capable of either increasing or easing their apprehension)—one piece of more-recent news being that the script for the pilot episode has officially been sent "up the chain of command at the TV studio" for approval.
Regardless of slow progression or set-backs, Percy Jackson is finally receiving a worthy live-action adaptation—that alone will surely be worth the wait.
9. The Series Has A Bigger Budget Than The 'MCU' And 'Star Wars' Series
A screenshot of the 2010 'Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief' film on Disney+, which became available on the streaming platform in May 2020.
While it is easy to set Percy Jackson apart from other teen fiction novels published in the late 90s and early 2000s—such as Harry Potter, Hunger Games, and Game of Thrones—due to its humorous and tongue-in-cheek diction, however, it is important to not deplete it and remember that the series was (and still is) a remarkable and successful work of "YA/MG fiction" and stands on the same platform as its fellow acclaimed works. As such, it deserves the same level of respect, artfulness, and mindfulness when it comes to developing a live-action adaptation.
As it turns out, the Disney+ Percy Jackson reboot was seemingly recently bestowed with an immense honor that will without-a-doubt help propel it towards this goal. Much like how it is easy to assume that Harry Potter, Hunger Games, Game of Thrones and other similar series would triumph over the wisecracking Percy Jackson and the Olympians—it is easy to believe that Disney+'s original Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and Star Wars series would be prioritized over Rick Riordan's work, receiving more attention and a larger budget.
However, "insider Daniel Richtman" recently claimed that not only will the in-development Percy Jackson series receive the largest budget of the three Disney+ original series universes, but it will also become the most expensive Disney+ original show to date!
As of right now, this statement is merely an analytical claim made by Richtman. Disney+'s adaptation of Percy Jackson has yet to announce a release date, production schedule, or cast and crew; as We Got This Covered writes, "With so few of the pieces in place and the pilot not even being given the green light as of yet, the budget is more than likely still a long way away from being officially confirmed".
However, if Daniel Richtman's predictions of a hefty investment from the "House of Mouse" are correct, then this will increase the series potential exponentially!
Percy Jackson and the Olympians, a YA/MG fiction series about young demigods going on harrowing quests, is finally receiving an improved live-action adaptation through Disney+ a decade after two eponymous, disappointing films were released in the early 2000s .
Socials—How to Keep Updated
Get updates on the new Percy Jackson series straight from the source(s)!
Rick Riordan Instagram: @rickriordan
Rick Riordan Twitter: @rickriordan
Riordan Website: Rick Riordan
Disney+ Website: Disney Plus
Disney+ Twitter: @disneyplus
