Percy Jackson: Things That Have to Happen for the Disney+ Series to Succeed

Back in May 2020, amid the pandemic and the world being shut down, Rick Riordan announced that he wasn't quite done with the Percy Jackson series just yet. Riordan first released book one, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, The Lightning Thief on June 28th, 2005, and from there, there have been four followup series. Over the years, Riordan's series has sold over 69 million copies worldwide, says Wordsrated. It has gained tons of fans over the fifteen years they have been published, and even now, in 2022, book lovers are picking up the series for the first time, diving into the world of Greek gods and the demigod war. Fans took the news and ran with it, re-tweeting the message that stated the beloved book series was going to be made into a show that would eventually air on Disney+. Riordan confirmed that he would be involved with the show through every step, unlike the 2010 movie.

New Cast and Revamped Characters

Season one will consist of eight episodes and depict everything that happened in the first book, with Walker Scobell leading the cast as Percy Jackson himself. He'll be joined by Leah Sava Jefferies as Annabeth and Aryan Simhadri as Grover; the trio announced a few weeks ago on Twitter. More recently, Disney+ revealed even more cast members for major as well as some minor characters, getting fans excited about the show, more than they already are. Besides the trio that fans begged Riordan to announce from the beginning, the character Chiron was also highly anticipated, and Glynn Turnman has been chosen to depict the iconic centaur. Dionysus aka Mr. D, the camp director is another character who appears in every book who gives Percy a hard time and often calls him "Peter Johnson." Jason Mantzoukas has been chosen to play the wine god and fans couldn't be happier. The notable villain Mrs. Dodds will be played by Megan Mullally, a fury that terrorizes Percy in school and also on the battlefield.

Fans Reaction to the Show So Far

When Disney+ started to announce the cast and fill in the roles for these notable characters, fans of the series rejoiced because the show was finally happening. With the promise of Riordan being there throughout this process, fans were relieved, not having to anticipate a repeat of the 2010 depiction. Following the announcement of most of the adult roles being filled, Disney+ also announced that Dior Goodjohn will be playing Clarisse La Rue, Charlie Bushnell will be Luke Castellan; two more major characters added to the roster. Many fans took to Twitter to praise Riordan and show runners for filling the cast with people of color, instead of following the book and making most of the characters Caucasian. Fans are saying it's revolutionary to have so many people of color in the cast, and that other shows should be following Riordan's lead in making big decisions like this, despite the discourse that could follow up with it.

However, other fans tweeted phrases like "not my Annabeth" as a result of this main protagonist being cast as a Black individual, instead of white. Hate started to pour in for this actress, claiming that she needed to be re-casted or there would be several people not watching, because it wouldn't be "authentic." This racism continued with Grover's casting, and now Clarisse and Luke's. Riordan however, is not having it and made a public statement denouncing the racism that people were starting to showcase as a response to these cast announcements. He defends Leah Sava Jefferies, who will be playing Annabeth Chase, and states that there isn't a better person to play this strong character, says Yahoo. Riordan also makes it a point to mention that harassing and bullying a child is never right, and that the racism has to stop right then and there.

Memorable Moments from the Books

The Lightning Thief is the first book in the entire series and sets the tone for the world of Greek Gods and the adventures and quests that their children take part in. The first season of the Disney+ show will have to be filled to the brim with content in the eight upcoming episodes, which are currently filming right now and throughout this summer. There are so many great moments in book one that deserve to be in the show, such as Percy getting his first bead at the end of the book, signifying that he made it through the summer and survived his first year at Camp Half-Blood. Also, Clarisse and Percy going head-to-head during capture the flag, and Percy realizing that he has the power of water on his side, and that his godly parent is Poseidon.

The Lotus Casino is such an iconic part of the book as well as the movie, Percy, Annabeth, and Grover getting stuck in the hotel for days, in a time loop of sorts. Also, Percy slaying Medusa in her emporium of stone people, going toe-to-toe with one of the most dangerous women in Greek literature, and winning alongside his two best friends. While there are so many lighthearted moments that must be included in the show, there have to be more serious and somber tones added. Percy discovering that Luke was messing with his head the entire time and just acting like he was his friend and mentor, just to turn around and reveal himself as the enemy is so important to the layout of the books.

While we don't have a release date for the show yet, fans can be assured in the fact that it's in good hands, Riordan making sure of that. And while we don't have a Poseidon yet, fans are begging the writers to have Logan Lerman, the original Percy Jackson, to play the god of the sea. While nothing has been confirmed yet, fans aren't giving up hope. Will Lerman return?