Disney

Percy Jackson is returning in a new series from Disney+.  The ‘Percy Jackson’ franchise was one that Disney acquired when it bought 21st Century Fox and the 20th Century Fox film library.  Fox (now known as 20th Century Studios) released two films, ‘Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief’ (2010) and ‘Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters’ (2013), but they failed to perform as well as other YA adaptations like the ‘Harry Potter’ and ‘Hunger Games’ movie franchises, so Fox ceased producing them.  The movies are based on the book series by Rick Riordan, and it was the author himself, along with his wife Becky, who made the announcement of the new Disney+ series.

As Riordan expressed:

“We are very excited about the idea of a live-action series of the highest quality, following the storyline of the original Percy Jackson five-book series, starting with The Lightning Thief in season one.”

Riordan and his wife have been tweeting using the hashtag #DisneyAdaptPercyJackson for over a week, feeding speculation that there were plans in the works for this brand that has laid dormant for seven years.  The author also indicated that he and his wife would be heavily involved with the series “in person in every aspect of the show.”  Riordan previously disclosed that he and Fox clashed repeatedly over the direction of the films.  Hopefully, his involvement with the TV show will lead to a more faithful version.

There are five books in the main ‘Percy Jackson & The Olympians’ series: ‘The Lightening Thief’, ‘The Sea of Monsters’, ‘The Titan’s Curse’, ‘The Battle of the Labyrinth’, and ‘The Last Olympian’, as well as numerous spinoffs and tie-ins.  ‘The Lightening Thief’ was first published in 2005 and ‘The Last Olympian’ came out in 2009.

The film adaptation of ‘The Lightening Thief’ was directed by Chris Columbus (‘Home Alone’), while Thor Freudenthal (‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid’) helmed ‘Sea of Monsters’.  Both films starred Logan Lerman in the title role, as an average teenager who discovers that he is the son of Poseidon, the Greek god of the oceans.  The films also starred Alexandra Daddario as Annabeth Chase, the daughter of Athena, Brandon T. Jackson as the satyr, Grover Underwood, and Jake Abel as Luke Castellan, the son of Hermes.  The first film also featured Sean Bean as Zeus, Kevin McKidd as Poseidon, Steve Coogan as Hades, Erica Cerra as Hera, Rosario Dawson as Persephone, Uma Thurman as Medusa, and Melina Kanakaredes as Athena.  Dylan Neal played Hermes in the first movie, but was replaced by Nathan Fillion in the second.  Similarly, Pierce Brosnan portrayed the centaur Mr. Brunner/Chiron, but was replaced by Anthony Head in the second.

Are you a fan of the ‘Percy Jackson’ books or movies?  Are you excited that the franchise will make a comeback thanks to Disney+?

Source: Deadline