By Riley Eisenbeil
Staff Writer
Calling all demigods and Greek mythology fanatics — Disney+ has officially announced that the “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” series is on its way.
For those who are unfamiliar with the original plot, the main character Percy Jackson finds out that he is a successor of a Greek god and sets out on an epic adventure to settle an intense battle between the gods.
Rick Riordan originally told this story in a book series that came out in early the 2000s and sold more than 180 million copies as of this year. Two movies were created around the first and second books in 2010 and 2013.
Riordan responded to a fan on Twitter regarding the movies by saying, “To me, it's my life's work going through a meat grinder when I pleaded with them not to do it. So yeah. But it's fine. All fine. We're gonna fix it soon."
He had never even watched the movies, and he didn’t plan to after reading the script. He will be taking a more direct role in this adaptation of his novels to hopefully do it justice — fans should have high hopes for this one.
The idea of a spinoff series has been tossed around since May 2020, but it wasn’t until a couple of weeks ago on Jan. 25 that Disney+ made the official announcement.
Disney+ News announced that he will be co-writing the pilot alongside Jonathon E. Steinberg, a television producer and screenwriter known for his work on “Black Sails.” Also announced was that James Bobin will be directing — he is most known for his work with “The Mysterious Benedict Society” and 2011’s “The Muppets.”
The next big question I’m sure everyone wants an answer to is — who will be starring in it? Logan Lerman, Alexandra D’addario and Brandon T. Jackson were the original stars of the movies and the fans want to know if we can anticipate their return.
It is important to note that these stars are now in their thirties, so seeing them come back as their original characters is unlikely. Jackson has yet to make a statement with any media outlets, but Lerman and D'addario have spoken about it with different media outlets.
When asked about starring in the new series as Poseidon rather than Percy Jackson, Lerman told Entertainment Tonight, “Yeah, potentially! It really just depends. I think it’s early right now. It doesn’t always start with an announcement like this — this is a big project… I’m curious if there will be a role that would be interesting for me or something like that. I’d definitely consider it, it sounds cool. I mean I love those stories.”
Alexandra Daddario spoke about not returning for the series on WrapWomen’s “UnWrapped” podcast.
“I am so excited for the kids that are going to be cast in that and how they’ll inspire a new generation of young women,” Daddario said. “Like it’s so cool; Annabeth is a really inspiring character to people.”
In a lot of TV and film nowadays, actors are too old to be playing the parts they are cast for. Riordan confirmed the cast will be much younger than the previous adaptations.
“We are looking for an actor who can ‘play 12,’” Riordan wrote on his personal website, when discussing the preliminary casting. “That allows for a range in the actual age of the actor, but the goal is to stay true to the original story and have Percy’s character age from 12 to 16 over the course of the TV series.”
“Percy Jackson and the Olympians” could be the start of what future generations need.
Regardless of who will star in it, fans are beyond excited for this new series and Rick Riordan is finally getting his dream of bringing his visions to our screens.
The series will be filmed in Vancouver and is set to start this summer according to Riordan’s blog. No release date has been set, but it is safe to assume that the series will premiere sometime in 2023.
