Disney ordered a Percy Jackson and the Olympians series for Disney+. Rick Riordan first released the Percy Jackson and the Olympians book series in 2005 with "The Lightning Thief." The book became a hit, and Riordan released four sequels: "The Sea of Monsters," "The Titan's Curse," "The Battle of the Labyrinth," and "The Last Olympian." Each book follows the protagonist and titular character, Percy Jackson, after learning of his true godly parentage. He is then thrust into the world of Greek Gods and Goddesses and their half-blooded children.
Director Chris Columbus previously adapted Riordan's work for the screen in 2010 for 20th Century Fox titled Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief. The film starred Logan Lerman as Percy Jackson, Alexandra Daddario as Annabeth Chase, and Brandon T. Jackson as Grover. The film received mixed reviews for its writing and choice to age up the characters. Lerman, however, received praise for his performance as Percy. The film was successful enough to spawn a sequel titled Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters, directed by Thor Freudenthal, although the film was critically panned, and Fox scrapped efforts to produce the third film in the series. Public interest in the world of Olympians has not gone away, and excitement for a new adaptation continues to thrive.
Disney+ officially ordered Percy Jackson and the Olympians to series, according to The Wrap. The pilot will be penned by original series author Riordan along with Jon Steinberg. James Bobin (The Muppets, Dora and the Lost City of Gold) is set to direct. 20th Television will produce the series alongside executive producers Dan Shotz, Rebecca Riordan, Bert Salke, Monica Owusu-Breen, Jim Rowe, and Gotham Group's Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Jeremy Bell, D.J. Goldberg. The first season will follow the first book's plot in the series with the logline written below:
Geared towards a general audience and especially tweens, teens, and young adults, the live action series tells the fantastical story of a 12-year-old modern demigod, Percy Jackson, who’s just coming to terms with his newfound supernatural powers when the sky god Zeus accuses him of stealing his master lightning bolt. Now Percy must trek across America to find it and restore order to Olympus.
The young adult fantasy series adaptation was initially announced in 2020 with no update since then besides Riordan's creative involvement in the project. The film adaptations notoriously split fans by leaning away from the source material to reach a wider teen audience. The news of the original writer penning the script brings hope that the series will satisfy original fans of the books and new fans alike. Comparatively, the Netflix live-action adaptation series of Avatar: The Last Airbender has many people skeptical of the show's direction after the original creators, Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzsko, left the project due to creative differences. Hopefully, the Percy Jackson series will excite fans in its creative direction.
Disney+ has had success with adapted television series with the MCU and Star Wars properties and the High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. The streaming service has proven its understanding of entertaining wide audiences and introducing them to new worlds. There is no casting announcement yet, but hopefully, Percy Jackson and the Olympians will skew closer to the books by casting younger actors.
Source: The Wrap