Rick Riordan teases the release date for the upcoming television adaptation of Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Centered around its titular demigod, Percy, the best-selling book series of the same name follows his various adventures to prevent Greek mythology's Titans from destroying the world in the 21st century. Riordan revealed back in 2020 that the new live-action show would be produced by Disney and that he would be involved in its creation, sharing production details with fans through his personal website during the long process. Filming for the Disney+ series began in June and since then, Riordan has praised Percy Jackson's early footage, calling it "divine."
Season 1 of the latest adaptation has been confirmed to cover The Lightning Thief, tracking a 12-year-old Percy as he comes to terms with his supernatural abilities and embarks on a journey to recover Zeus' master lighting bolt. Walker Scobell will star as Percy, with Leah Sava Jeffries and Aryan Simhadri having been cast as Annabeth Chase and Grover Underwood, respectively. Early in May, audiences got their first look at Percy Jackson's main trio when Riordan shared a photo of all three of them together. As for Percy Jackson's release, Riordan previously guessed that the Disney+ show wouldn't arrive until 2023 at the earliest. Now that filming has gotten underway, though, the author is revising his estimates.
Riordan informs viewers that the potential release date for Percy Jackson and the Olympians might not be until early 2024. In a new post to his website, he shared that his previous expectations had changed, and that it will take several more months to film the rest of season 1. Read what Riordan has to say about the show's release date below:
"So when will the show be out? I hear there have been some wildly unrealistic dates floating around on social media, so I am here to moderate your expectations. Previously, I have said that my own personal best guess was sometime in 2023. I also warned you that this could definitely change. Now that I have a somewhat better understanding of the work involved, here’s what I am estimating: It’s probably going to take us through December or into January to film all the episodes of season one, which is roughly one month of filming per episode (eight episodes total), though very often we are filming pieces of 101, 102, or even 103 out of order on any given day, depending on what set we are using. That means post-production will begin in early 2023, when the pieces are fitted together, edited and augmented with all the special effects and sound. This process also takes months and months, and that’s not even accounting for closed-captioning, subtitling and dubbing into other languages for our international viewers. That takes another army of people to accomplish.
Given all this, I think the most likely air date will probably be early 2024. Again, that’s just me guessing. The actual release dates are determined by the studio and the streaming service, and have to take in hundreds of other factors like the release schedule for all Disney+ shows, timing for publicity, etc., etc."
As fans look ahead towards the show's release, Riordan will continue to share updates, with his most recent Camp Half-Blood tease exciting many. The popular training location from his novels plays a large role The Lightning Thief, and audiences are curious to see how it will be portrayed compared to the Percy Jackson films' depiction. Other news given by the author himself has included the series' addition of the Minotaur, the hiring of director James Bobin, and set designs that he promises will be thrilling.
Riordan's involvement with the whole production process for Percy Jackson, and his own personal joy for it, should supply fans with some evidence that the new adaptation will meet their expectations. With filming still underway, they can anticipate more teases from the author as the series comes together and can ready themselves for what it might offer. 2024 is a long ways off, but Riordan has been good about keeping everyone updated so far. For now, fans can look forward to getting a concrete release date and experiencing Percy Jackson and the Olympians on Disney+ when the time comes.
Source: Rick Riordan