The Percy Jackson book series released in 2005 quickly became a fan phenomenon, and as a complete series sold over 180 million copies in over 35 countries and 37 languages. The series author, Rick Riordan writes about the adventures and challenges of half-human-half-god (demi-god), Percy Jackson. The original novel “The Lightning Thief”, was transformed onto the big screen in 2010. Fans and fanatics quickly recognized the storyline was extremely unlike the beloved novels. Riordan even shared a tweet regarding the disappointing film, writing “It’s my life’s work going through a meat grinder”. Any thoughts of redemption for the movies were immediately crushed after the release of “Sea of Monsters” plummeted at the box office. Fans lost hope for a chance of a book-accurate adaptation of the novels.
Yet, December 20th, 2023 became a momentous moment for book fans. The new Disney+ TV series “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” allowed for a much more book-accurate portrayal of the novels, pleasing the series’ devoted fans. This time around, author Rick Riordan was much more involved with the adaptation. Series co-creator Jonathan Steinberg said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, that having Riordan heavily involved in the series was a blessing. However, this new series has received some controversy regarding the show’s casting of Annabelle as 14-year-old African-American actress Leah Jeffries; who is contrarily described in the books as having “curly blonde hair, tan skin, and stormy gray eyes.” Roidan immediately shut down critics of the casting, stating in an interview with Variety “does she look like Annabeth looks in the books? No. Was that important to me? No. If anything, it was a massive benefit to broaden the cast in terms of representation.”
So far the show has been a hit, receiving a 96% from Rotten Tomatoes. New episodes will be released every Tuesday at 9 PM ET/6 PM PT through January. I personally believe this show is an amazing adaptation of the Percy Jackson series, commendable for every young actor/actress involved. Fans finally get to experience the Camp Half-Blood they’ve dreamed of; cheers to new beginnings!
