Praise Zeus: Disney Plus officially green lights Percy Jackson & The Olympians series
Novel series author Rick Riordan and Jon Steinberg are teaming up to write the pilot
Aux News Percy Jackson & the Olympians
Alright, young queer people who were really into Greek mythology in the mid ‘00s and were ultimately disappointed by the horrific Percy Jackson film series starring Logan Lerman (and okay, children who have an interest in the book series now, too)—this one’s for you.
It’s been announced by author Rick Riordan that his beloved novel series Percy Jackson And The Olympians will be adapted into a television series at Disney+, with he and Jon Steinberg (FX’s The Old Man, Black Sails) penning the pilot. With the project in development since May 2020, it’s now officially on its way to the streamer.
“The wait is over, demigods,” Riordan says in the video. “I am thrilled to be the first to tell you that Percy Jackson and the Olympians is really, truly, and for sure coming to your screens.”
Riordan also shares the pilot will be directed by James Bobin, who recently directed the pilot for fellow Disney+ series adaptation of The Mysterious Benedict Society, starring Tony Hale and Kristen Schaal.
“Bringing Rick Riordan’s brilliant Percy Jackson books to Disney+ as a television series has been a mission for so many of us at this company as well as for Rick himself, and Jon, Dan, James and the excellent team they have assembled have proven to be the perfect collaborators,” 20th Television president Karey Burke says in a statement. “This will be an adaptation for the ages, with all the excitement, action and mythology fans of the books expect and love.”
The Percy Jackson And The Olympians novel series follows a young teen named Percy Jackson, who discovers he’s a demigod with the absent Poseidon for a father. While attending Camp Half-Blood, Jackson befriends fellow demigods and eventually must embark on a journey to return Zeus’ lightning bolt to Mount Olympus. He comes across many other characters from Greek lore, including other Greek gods, Medusa, the Fates, and more. The series consists of five novels including The Lightning Thief, The Sea of Monsters, The Titan’s Curse, The Battle of the Labyrinth, and The Last Olympian.
The Lightning Thief and The Sea Of Monsters were turned into two films starring in 2010 and 2013, and also starred Alexandra Daddario (The White Lotus), Steve Coogan, and Brandon T. Jackson. It’s a shame they were terribly written because they sure did knock it out of the park with the casting of Lerman as Jackson. While Disney was involved with these lackluster productions, Riordan is taking on a much closer role to the series.
No castings or release dates for the Disney+ series have been shared yet.
13 Comments
Just a reminder. M. Night Shyamalan’s kids were HUGE FANS of Avatar: The Last Air Bender as well. We all know how that turned out. Also kinda funny that he says “Percy Jackson and the Olympians are coming to the screen” like this is the first time. I mean they were not good but the first one did well enough that they made a terrible sequel where they had to recast half the people.
“We all know how that turned out.”I mean, we got LoK and the original showrunners are about to expand the Avatar universe even more. Everything else is forgotten.
Are they? I know Netflix is making a live action show but I heard the originals show runners left that over creative differenceI did also hear some parts of the internet calling to cancel them completely because Avatar is a martial arts Asian inspired show made by white folks, which is a shitty take.
https://www.avclub.com/were-finally-getting-the-avatar-the-last-airbender-mov-1846350552
I’m just taking bets on when this project will be scrapped when one of those dashing men fail to keep their hands to themselves.
I’ve never understood why these books, and Riordan himself, aren’t given more love by the Internet. You want representation? They give you that.
They’re putting “alright” in every article now just to fuck with me
Yeah, EXCEPT for the articles about Dazed and Confused! What’s up with that???
As someone with no knowledge of the books, it disturbs me that this is this is the third time I’ve seen or heard them referenced in the past week. This is the kind of thing that could trigger my paranoia.
Jesus Christ.Nico and Clarisse hadn’t even come out yet when the Lerman movies were released.
Even so – here’s hoping the series does them justice. They’re wonderful.
the horrific Percy Jackson film series
Horrific? I don’t remember the films being that bad. Honestly, I don’t really remember the films much at all. On one hand that’s obviously not good as it means they were unmemorable. On the other hand, it means they didn’t glaringly annoy me like some other fantasy book adaptations I wish I could forget.
They were ok to watch, maybe they did bad at the box office?
THE OG PERCY SERIES WAS VERY VERY HETEROSEXUAL. I WONDER WHAT WILL BE BROUGHT INTO IT FROM LATER ENTRIES OR SIMPLY CHANGED TO REFLECT RIORDAN’S SINCERE EFFORTS TO BE MORE DIVERSE.