Since rumors of a possible adaptation of the hit book series “Percy Jackson” started forming in 2020, news following has only increased anticipation.
Produced by Disney+, the first season of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” will follow the plot of the first book, “The Lightning Thief,” and there are possible plans for four more seasons to follow.
The Percy Jackson book series centers around Percy Jackson, a 12-year-old son of a Greek god, and his adventures and battles with Gods, demigods and monsters, most of which are loosely based on Greek mythology.
The first book follows his journey to Camp Half Blood, a haven for demigods, and his quest to find a lightning bolt that Zeus believes he stole. Despite the first book coming out over 17 years ago, a recent spinoff series based on various mythologies finished only two years ago, with the first book of that series topping the USA Today bestsellers list.
“I have had in the past semester a few people come ask me if we hold the Percy Jackson books for like other Greek mythology classes or for elementary lit classes,” said Hannah Smith, a librarian at the Drake School of Education.
News about the show has released slowly, with only a trailer and release year of 2024 as of yet. When the show was officially confirmed in January, #PercyJackson trended on Twitter.
In the trailer, Walker Scobell, the actor for Percy, walks through Camp Half Blood towards his cabin, while he recites the opening paragraph of the first book, which the first season of the show will be based on. Social media posts praised the overall look of the trailer and designs of the setting.
“I’m actually quite excited for it, because I feel like it’ll do a little bit better at representing the books than the movies,” said Micah White, a first-year at Drake who read the books in elementary school and plans to watch the show. “I definitely think it’s gonna bring a lot of old fans back into it.”
Most other key cast members, such as Aryan Simhadri from Disney’s Spin (playing Grover) and Leah Jeffries (playing Annabeth) have also been announced.
Some fans received the news of the show with skepticism, remembering the last adaptation of the series. The two movies produced by 20th Century Fox had been criticized by both Riordan and fans for not adhering to the original material.
“They were good movies, but I don’t feel like they represented the book very well,” White said.
In good news for those looking for an adaptation that represents the books, the author, Rick Riordan, has announced his definite involvement on his website, not only in writing but in his and his wife’s roles as executive producers. On his blog, he praised casting decisions and the raw footage, and described his involvement on set and his excitement for the project.
While the show won’t come out for about another two years, fans of the series can keep up with Riordan’s blog for news on his involvement, and wait for more updates about the show from the studio.
