Percy Jackson & the Olympians, written by American author Rick Riordan, is a series of five fantasy novels based on Greek mythology that has stemmed into a multi-series franchise; over 15 books have been published following several key characters along their journey to save the world. In the first series, Percy Jackson is a 12-year-old boy with dyslexia and ADHD who discovers he is the son of the Greek god of the sea, Poseidon. From there, he bravely sets out to deal with the complex politics of the temperamental Olympians, making many friends and enemies along his journey and fighting against a prophecy he is meant to fulfill.
Update August 10, 2023: This article has been updated Mona Bassil with additional information regarding the news of the Disney+ Percy Jackson series.
Two films were made based on this book series: Chris Columbus' Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief in 2010 and Thor Freudenthal's Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters three years later. Neither fared as well as expected, and what was set to be the next Harry Potter-level franchise quickly fizzled out. The films were also hated by fans of the books, so the news of a new adaptation set as a series for Disney+ has gotten many fans excited. That series is expected to air sometime in 2024. With that in mind, take a look back at why the film franchise failed to launch.
Riordan Himself Was Not Pleased
Many young adult novels were turned into hit films, spawning a large franchise and an incredibly loyal fan base. In terms of revenue, the first Percy Jackson movie did very well, grossing $226.4 million worldwide. The second one made less, bringing in $199 million at the worldwide box office. It was clear that the brand would keep losing money with each entry, like what happened with the Narnia films.
Fans who flocked to the cinema expressed their distress about the many changes that were made to the original story. Riordan himself admitted he had little creative control and that the movies deviated a lot from his books and removed five main characters. In fact, he only read the scripts and refused to watch the films. As he told Entertainment Weekly, "I judge them from having read the scripts because I care most about the story. I certainly have nothing against the very talented actors. Not their fault. I'm just sorry they got dragged into that mess. To you guys, it's a couple of hours' entertainment. To me, it's my life's work going through a meat grinder, when I pleaded with them not to do it."
With the author not fully on board and the fans dropping off, it was clear that 20th Century Fox was not going to keep investing money into a franchise that would likely lose money.
Major Changes in the Movies
Fans were upset with the vast changes and felt that the movies didn't capture the depth of the relationships that the novels explored, not to mention that a lot of unnecessary changes were made. In the book, the character starts off as a 12-year-old boy. In the first movie, though, he is already 16, and the prophecy is changed to him surviving till his 21st birthday. This was regarded as a bad move, as it took the "young" out of the young adult genre. It's as if the creators didn't want to explore the dilemmas and struggles of a character so inexperienced and were eager to skip directly to the part where they could have more romantic tension between him and Annabeth Chase, the goddess Athena's daughter.
While in the books Percy struggles with his powers, he is in almost full control of them in the films, which makes him much less relatable to young readers. Ares, the god of war, is majorly present in the books, and Hades is a fierce antagonist, while in the movies, Ares only appears in one scene, and Hades isn't particularly menacing to Percy. As for Circe and her maidens, one of Percy and Annabeth's main challenges in the original story, they don't appear at all in the film adaptations.
Another discrepancy that upset the fans was the absence of the shocking "secret villain" reveal, Percy's so-called close friend, Luke, who betrays him in an unsuspected move. In the book, Luke attempts to poison him, and Percy realizes in horror and disbelief that he has been wrong about his intentions and affection all along. In the film, however, Percy discovers Luke's motives, and they have a massive face-off in New York City. There wasn't much room for psychological tension, only for cinematic action.
Most fans approved of the casting choices, though: Logan Lerman played the lead, Brandon T. Jackson was Grover Underwood, and Jake Abel was cast as Luke Castellan. The characters matched their overall physical description in the books, except for Alexandra Daddario's Annabeth, who had the wrong eye and hair color. Still, the actors were all considered too old to play their characters. Daddario has since gone on to be a major star in many other projects, with Percy Jackson likely being where most fans first saw her.
Ironically, these films have sometimes been called "good bad movies," because their inaccuracies angered the fans, but as stand-alone productions, they were considered entertaining and boasted decent directing and visual effects. It's only when you realize the movies didn't do the books any justice and were far less captivating and complex that you understand why both the fans and the author disapprove of them so much.
Things Are Looking Up With Percy Jackson on Disney+
Much hope rests on the upcoming Disney+ series adaptation, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, which will be closely followed by Riordan. Starring Walker Scobell stars as Percy, opposite Leah Sava Jeffries, and Aryan Simhadri as Annabeth Chase and Grover, respectively. Disney acquired the rights to the novel after it purchased 20th Century Fox in 2017. Disney seems like a great home for the series as its cast of young kids fits with the company's brand. Principal photography started in June 2022 in Vancouver and concluded in February 2023. The first season is set to be eight episodes long and will premiere sometime in 2024.
Of course, it's too soon to know if it will live up to the high expectations of the fans who are so infatuated with the book series. Disney did release a brief teaser trailer for the series. Viewers were quick to add positive comments under the video, such as, "That moment when a 50-second teaser was more accurate to the original than 2 movies," and "The book series is absolutely phenomenal, and I have high hopes for the show. I already love the actors. I’m so freaking excited."
Percy Jackson & The Olympians is arriving at a time when many major streaming platforms are looking to adapt popular book series that were previously movies into television series. Amazon Prime already has The Rings of Power, and Max is looking to redo Harry Potter to cash in on the brands' popularity. Yet what Percy Jackson has going for it that those other ones do not is the fact that the films are not as beloved as Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter, so there is more of a chance to do the story properly and win over fans.