We finally have more details about the upcoming “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” series at Disney+. According to author and executive producer Rick Riordan, the plan is to tackle one book per season.
“It’s going to be, hopefully, one season for every book, which gives us time to do justice to the entire story, as opposed to a movie where you have to make some cuts,” Riordan told TheWrap during D23 Expo on Saturday.
The first season will focus on “The Lightning Thief,” which is the first book in the series, Riordan said. That book and the second, “The Sea of Monsters,” have already been adapted into feature films, but the other three books remain untouched by any adaptations thus far.
This is our first real understanding of how Disney+ aims to move forward with a franchise since it isn’t always a given that a TV adaptation will limit itself to one book per season (see: “Game of Thrones”).
While speaking about the series on Saturday, Riordan gushed about the three leads — Walker Scobell (Percy), Leah Sava Jeffries (Annabeth) and Aryan Simhadri (Grover) — insisting that they are what “Percy fans have been waiting for.”
“They are the perfect embodiment of the characters that I made up for my son 20 years ago,” he explained. “Grover, Annabeth and Percy for a new generation.”
The trio also spoke about how they felt about taking up the mantle of such a beloved franchise. “It’s a dream come true, but it’s a lot of pressure because I don’t want to let anyone down,” Scobell said. “At the same time, I don’t want to let myself down.”
“Taking on Annabeth was something I knew wasn’t going to be like anything else,” Jeffries said. “She’s wise. Her nickname from [Percy] is ‘Wise Girl.’ I find it incredible playing her. I know there’s a lot of huge fans of Annabeth Chase out there and I want to satisfy them with all that I have.”
For Simhadri, he’s happy to bring some comic relief to the series as his favorite character, Grover. “Just seeing him grow throughout the series, he’s so cool. He becomes the God of the Wild — that’s so sick! It’s kind of surreal that I get to be that guy,” he said.
The first teaser for the series also dropped on Saturday, which you can watch here. There isn’t a release date for “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” yet, though Riordan previously said it will likely be in 2024.
