The Young Adult novel genre had undergone a surge in popularity during the turn of the century and has prospered since. Popular book franchises were rewarded with fandoms that went to extreme lengths to support the brand to its utmost extent. These fandoms dominated the internet and social media, celebrating their love for certain series with hundreds of thousands across the globe. One particular franchise with an unrelenting loyal fanbase is Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Inspiration for Percy Jackson first struck author Rick Riordan after his children had requested that he base his storytelling on Greek myths. It was his son Haley who first suggested that his father expound on common Greek myths by incorporating his own imagination into the time-worn tales. From there, Riordan transformed his oral story into a written one, thus creating Percy Jackson and the Olympians pentalogy. Riordan shared his writing with middle-school-aged children who were instrumental in choosing the series’ name, as well as determining the mechanics behind the pen-sword that the main protagonist wields. Percy Jackson and the Olympians was published in 2005 and has since remained to charm and delight its readers.
The flagship novel Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief was adapted for film in 2010 and later was followed by Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters. The pair of live-action adaptations ended the stint of cinematic adaptations of Riordan’s first novel series, and poor reception from fans and media critics alike tainted the reputation of the Percy Jackson film series altogether. Nonetheless, Riordan continued to publish sequels and spin-offs to his pilot series that tackled popular mythologies through a diverse and original cast of characters. Earlier this year, Disney announced a series order of Percy Jackson and the Olympians, breathing new life for Riordan's novels. The series will have eight episodes and is set to star The Adam Project's Walker Scobell in the titular role. As a Riordan Renaissance is upon us, here’s a look at why the Percy Jackson film franchise ended with Sea of Monsters.
How Many Percy Jackson Movies Are There?
Only two Percy Jackson films were greenlit, produced, and released before the saga was abandoned altogether. Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief attempted to follow the outline of the first novel in the series as it was responsible for introducing the content of the books to a new audience while satisfying an established community of fans, eager for the books to be rightfully honored through the movie adaptation. The first film arrived in 2010, a considerably prime window for the underwhelming adaptation, and shared a fractured retelling of the pilot book. Percy Jackson & the Olympians was first taken under the distribution rights of 20th Century Fox, who once had the intention of a five-picture deal.
Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters was the second and, unfortunately, final movie.The second film in the series shifted past the introductory phases of the first and prepared to launch the budding film series into even deeper conflict as Camp Half-Blood finds itself being preyed upon by mythical creatures. Percy and his friends are sent on another ambitious quest as they are to scour the Bermuda Triangle — the eponymous Sea of Monsters — and retrieve the Golden Fleece. While the quests that Percy and his mythological companions found themselves on seemed like a great epic adventure movie, the page-to-screen adaptation of Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters was ultimately a stopping point for 20th Century Fox.
Why The Movie Franchise Ended with Sea of Monsters
From a financial standpoint, Percy Jackson & the Olympians underperformed at the box office and disappointed revenue expectations. The Lightning Thief was more profitable, scoring $226 million upon its opening, but Sea of Monsters opened with $200 million. 20th Century Fox was notoriously criticized for its mistreatment of the source material, characters, and interpretation of the story that was known to draw its readers in. Riordan has refused to watch the movies after having minuscule involvement in the development process. According to IndieWire, he was vocal against the creative decisions that warped his source material, and he shared emails from his conversations with producers over his concerns on his personal website. Riordan openly expressed upset over the age differences between The Lightning Thief and Sea of Monsters, where the author was insistent that only a year had passed between the two.
Riordan's distance from the Percy Jackson & the Olympians live-action movies was obvious. The fans and critics were incredibly unimpressed by the severely butchered adaptations. The absence of creative control from the author and the studio determining the roadmap of these series was set to doom Percy Jackson & the Olympians from its beginning. The drastic, if not jarring, approach to the series was responsible for driving off any interest in watching the saga unfold across the big screen. Percy Jackson & the Olympians has resonated on personal levels with its fandom and has been crafted with such delicate care that it is written with the pure intention of being personal. The total ignorance of the production studio and while omitting the heart of the series from its film cost the franchise.