Percy Jackson, Annabeth, and Grover are off on an adventure in the latest images from the upcoming Percy Jackson and the Olympians Disney+ series. Shared to social media by Twitter user @HeyKarennM, the images find the trio filming in Vancouver, Canada (which has been cleverly made to look like New York City) and embarking on a quest to track down Zeus’ lightning bolt.
A new video also shared to social media by Twitter user Percy Jackson News offers another look at the young heroes, and gives our first glimpse at them in action. The Adam Project’s Walker Scobell will star in the series as Percy Jackson alongside Leah Sava Jeffries as Annabeth Chase, the daughter of Athena, and Aryan Simhadri as Grover Underwood, Percy's best friend and a satyr who disguises himself as a human.
The images and video tease several elements that will be familiar to fans of the books, including a Taxi cab topper that mentions “Hades” and the gang walking towards what is presumably the Empire State Building. Which in the novels is where modern day Olympus is located.
Adapted from the first in a series of novels by author Rick Riordan, Percy Jackson and the Olympians will follow 12-year-old demigod Percy Jackson as he comes to terms with his newfound supernatural powers. Not long after discovering his lineage, Percy is accused by the Greek god Zeus of stealing his lightning bolt, prompting him and his new-found companions, Annabeth Chase and Grover Underwood, to embark on a quest across America to find the bolt and restore order to Olympus.
Author Rick Riordan is Planning to “Fix” the Franchise with This Disney+ Adaptation
The Percy Jackson property has been adapted before for the big screen with Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief in 2010 and its sequel Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters in 2013. Author Rick Riordan has been quite vocal about his dislike of what was done to his creation with the movie series saying, "I still have not seen the movies, and don't plan on ever doing so."
Riordan continued, explaining his reasoning for disliking the movies and stating his hopes of fixing the problems for the Disney+ adaptation. "I judge them from having read the scripts, because I care most about the story,” he said. “I certainly have nothing against the very talented actors. Not their fault, I'm sorry they got dragged into this mess." When fans applauded the author for despising the films as much as audiences, Riordan said, "Well, to you guys, it's a couple hours' entertainment. 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."
Riordan is heavily involved in the making of Percy Jackson and the Olympians, writing the pilot episode and being on board as an executive producer. Jonathan E. Steinberg and Dan Shotz will serve as showrunners on Percy Jackson and the Olympians, with stars the likes of Virginia Kull, Glynn Turman, Jason Mantzoukas, Megan Mullally, and Timm Sharp alongside main trio Walker Scobbell, Leah Sava Jeffries, and Aryan Simhadri.
Each season of Percy Jackson will adapt a book from the series, with Percy Jackson and the Olympians expected to be in production until January 2023.