12 Things Fans Want To See Most In The Percy Jackson TV Series
For many fans, the announcement of a reboot is cause for suspicion. Although there are plenty of remakes that improve upon their source material, these tend to be the exception, not the rule. For every film like Steven Soderbergh's "Ocean's Eleven," there are twice as many like 2022's "Pinocchio." Moreover, every reboot risks upsetting fans who were perfectly happy with the original production.
However, we doubt anybody is outraged on behalf of 2010's "Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief." Sure, there are millions of "Percy Jackson" fans devoted to Rick Riordan's beloved book of the same name and the series it spawned. But the movie is so disappointing, pretty much anything would be an improvement. Luckily, fans will get to test that theory very soon: A Percy Jackson TV series is headed to Disney+.
This series is under a lot of pressure. But knowing that Rick Riordan has been actively involved in the show's production (unlike the movie, which completely shut him out of the process) has a lot of fans feeling cautiously excited. What are they hoping for most? We're here to answer that question. These are the 12 things fans want to see most in the "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" TV series.
Characters who are actually the right age
In the original book, Percy is 12 years old. In the 2010 movie, Percy (Logan Lerman) is at least 16. This staggering age gap might have been an attempt to reel in teenagers at the theaters, but it ended up pleasing no one — least of all Rick Riordan himself. When Riordan learned the movie planned to age up the main characters, he tried to warn the producers that it was a terrible idea. In an email that he later shared on his blog, he wrote, "Make Percy seventeen, and [the] battle is lost before filming even begins." The books were originally written for tweens and their families, Riordan insisted, who should've been the movie's target audience. He predicted older teenagers would simply pass over the film, since they'd know it was based on a kids' book, while younger viewers would be aghast at how far the movie strayed from the beloved source material. Plus, making Percy 16 basically nixed the possibility of a "Harry Potter"-esque franchise in which the heroes get a little bit older with each movie.
The filmmakers proceeded to ignore the author's advice, so we can't blame Riordan for hating these movies. Thankfully, judging by photos released on Twitter of the new "Percy Jackson" cast in costume, we think it's safe to say that the three leads of the Disney+ series are exactly the right ages.
The three heroes properly portrayed
The 2010 movie fails on many fronts, but one of the worst is its portrayal of the three main characters. Though Rick Riordan has said (via Entertainment Weekly) that the three young actors did the best they could, most fans agree they were miscast. Logan Lerman is a talented actor, but his brooding portrayal is far off the mark. The movie completely forgets that Percy is warm, fun-loving, and a little bit sloppy. Meanwhile, Alexandra Daddario is way too icy as Annabeth Chase. Gone is the friendly teasing between her and Percy (whom she calls "Seaweed Brain"). And don't even get us started on Grover Underwood. Brandon T. Jackson gives the character a complete personality change, transforming the gentle satyr into a brash womanizer. What's worse, the original book ends with Percy and Annabeth as friends, with the possibility of romance left open for later books. Hopefully the TV series will take that same route, rather than immediately making them a couple.
Luckily, the cast for the Disney+ "Percy Jackson" series looks promising indeed. Riordan was happy to announce the casting choices for Percy and his friends, which is an excellent sign. The author is very confident these three will bring his characters to dazzling life, and, as a result, so are many fans.
Exploring ADHD and dyslexia
Percy Jackson has ADHD and dyslexia. He struggles in school, and sometimes feels like he'll never amount to anything — until he learns he's half-god. That's when Percy discovers that his dyslexia actually makes it easier for him to read Greek, and his ADHD gives him the reflexes he needs to survive in battle. The books frame Percy's neurodivergence not as a weakness, but a strength. This is an important message that fans want to see developed in the TV series.
These details have personal significance to Riordan, and are central to the books' origin story. As Riordan shared in a blog post, his son Haley has ADHD and dyslexia. Because of this, Haley didn't enjoy reading as a kid, but he did love hearing his dad retell the Greek myths. When Riordan had shared all the Greek myths he knew, Haley urged him to invent new ones. So Riordan decided to create a hero who was just like his son, and that's how Percy Jackson was born.
The Disney+ series would be wise to explore Percy's experiences with ADHD and dyslexia, ideally through more than just a throwaway line of dialogue. If ADHD and dyslexia play an important role in Percy's journey, it will allow millions of kids to see somebody like them on screen.
The same sense of humor as the books
Readers of "The Lightning Thief" notice one thing right away: It's incredibly funny. Even the table of contents is giggle-worthy, thanks to offbeat chapter titles like "I Accidentally Vaporize My Pre-Algebra Teacher" and "We Take a Zebra to Vegas." Arguably, one of the most unique aspects of this urban fantasy series is Riordan's signature sense of humor. Adapting these books without preserving that comedic quality would be unthinkable.
So of course, the 2010 movie did exactly that. For the most part, the film is dark and brooding, except for Grover's wisecracks. The filmmakers were probably trying to set him up as the comic relief, but what they didn't realize is that almost every character in the original books acts as comic relief. Even characters who are typically serious get in a few zingers. When Percy asks Chiron what people do in the outdoor mess hall whenever it rains, for example, Chiron deadpans, "We still have to eat, don't we?"
The best way to preserve Riordan's sense of humor is to have Riordan himself work on the project. Fortunately, the author is a key player on the show, and even wrote the script for the first episode (per Digital Spy). Hopefully, this series will supply fans with plenty of laughs. Fingers crossed the episode titles will be in the same style as the books' chapter titles.
More screen time for Mr. D
In the books, Dionysus (also known as Mr. D) is a pretty unforgettable character. A minor god, he's forced to watch over the kids at Camp Half-Blood for "community service." He also has an ongoing rivalry with Percy, whose name Mr. D conveniently seems to forget. If Mr. D had his way, the series would be called "Peter Johnson and the Olympians."
Mr. D is a staple in the books, so plenty of fans were outraged to learn that he was cut from the movie altogether. The filmmakers made sure to include him in 2013's "Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters," but by then it was too little, too late. Moreover, Stanley Tucci and his remarkable wit are greatly underutilized. The concept of a wine god who is only allowed to drink Diet Coke is a stroke of genius, and Mr. D is a shining example of the book's anachronistic sense of humor. Plus, it's hilarious to see a mighty god in such a mundane role.
Thank heavens we know that Mr. D will definitely appear in Season 1: Variety announced in June 2022 that Jason Mantzoukas would be playing the god of wine. How much screen time Mr. D will actually get, we're not sure. He might be a series regular who's constantly supplying witty quips, or he might only get a small cameo. Regardless, at least Hollywood won't make the same mistake twice.
The Oracle and the prophecy
Like most "Percy Jackson" fans' favorite details from the books, the movies get the Oracle wrong. In fact, the Oracle of Delphi and her prophecy don't get a single mention in the first "Percy Jackson" movie. This is pretty shocking, considering how important the prophecies are in the books. The filmmakers attempted to retcon this mistake by introducing the Oracle (Shohreh Aghdashloo) in the second movie, but the damage had already been done.
The prophecies are an important tradition and a key plot point in every "Percy Jackson" book. There is always supposed to be a mysterious prophecy foretelling the results of Percy's quest. Every time, the characters think they know what it means, and every time, it comes true in a way they never expected. The books derive a lot of suspense from keeping readers guessing about how these prophecies might unfold. We think most fans would agree that the TV series just won't feel the same without the Oracle's words looming over Percy's adventures.
Spending more time at Camp Half-Blood
Camp Half-Blood means as much to "Percy Jackson" fans as Hogwarts means to "Harry Potter" fans. It goes without saying that everybody is hoping for a faithful portrayal of this special place in the Disney+ series — especially since the 2010 movie rushed through all the Camp Half-Blood scenes. The film seems so anxious to get Percy on his quest that it skips over all the finer points of camp life. For instance, there is no mention of the 12 cabins that campers are sorted into, based on who their godly parent is. That's a pretty huge omission, considering how Percy's unknown parentage plays a huge role in him feeling like an outcast at the beginning of the story. If the TV series is smart, it will spend a couple of episodes at Camp Half-Blood, exploring the place that so many demigods call home.
If the show's teaser trailer is any indication, Camp Half-Blood will be everything fans hope for. This snippet offers a glimpse of a row of numbered cabins, including the Poseidon Cabin, which looms over Percy in exactly the same way it does in the book. The series' creators have clearly put great care into constructing Camp Half-Blood, right down to the orange T-shirts and bead necklaces given to each camper.
The most iconic monsters
The various mythological figures Percy encounters along his quest are almost like a rogues gallery, and each plays an important role in "The Lightning Thief." The show just won't be complete without the Minotaur, for example, the iconic bull-headed beast Percy fights on the way to Camp Half-Blood. Fans will also definitely want to see Medusa. Hopefully, the show will take a different angle than the movie, which plays the Medusa sequence like a horror movie. Medusa is much more fascinating when she's portrayed as a batty old lady who loves garden statues. Cerberus and the Chimera are also popular with fans. It might even be nice to have a Procrustes cameo.
Previous adaptations of "The Lightning Thief" have left out at least one of these characters. The musical skips Procrustes, while Cerberus and the Chimera only get brief cameos. Meanwhile, the movie cuts all of the above, replacing them with the Hydra, who doesn't appear until a later book. However, since Riordan has confirmed the series will have eight episodes, that will hopefully give Disney+ a chance to give each monster its due. One monster is already guaranteed to make an appearance, in fact. In June 2022, Variety announced that Disney had cast Megan Mullally as Alecto the Fury, who disguises herself as Percy's teacher, Mrs. Dodds. No doubt fans are excited to see this take on the first monster Percy ever fights.
More development for the villains
The first book in the "Percy Jackson" series has three main villains. Hades isn't one of them, as he's actually framed for stealing Zeus' lightning bolt. Luke is the real thief, while Ares helps him start a war on Olympus. Both are doing Kronos' bidding. With any luck, all three will get the attention they deserve in the Disney+ series.
The 2010 movie screws up its portrayal of the villains entirely, which places even more pressure on the TV show to get it right. Ares and Kronos are totally cut, making Luke (Jake Abel) a one-man show of evil. Unfortunately, movie-Luke gets zero development. The film barely touches on his mentor-mentee relationship with Percy, much less the fact that they've both been abandoned by a godly father. Both aspects are crucial to Luke's character. As audiences don't understand Luke's motivations or care about him, his betrayal falls flat.
Obviously, Kronos needs to appear in the TV show, since he's the boss villain of the entire series. Ares is equally important as a scene-stealing secondary villain who pulls focus from Luke. Positioning Ares as the main antagonist for most of Season 1, while keeping Luke and Kronos as the main antagonists for the rest of the series, will give viewers not just a satisfying climax in which Percy fights Ares, but also an ominous cliffhanger where he must face Luke.
A unique spin on the Underworld
The original "Percy Jackson" book offers such a fresh take on the land of the dead, it's no wonder the movie's version of the Underworld is so disappointing. The 2010 film goes in a very generic direction, giving readers pretty much exactly what they'd expect the Underworld to look like: fire, brimstone, et cetera. In the book, however, Riordan cleverly subverts clichés by highlighting the location's mundane aspects — Percy even compares it to an airport. Departed souls must wait in line and pass through metal detectors. There's even an EZ Death Gate for those who want to skip the paperwork and go straight to the Asphodel Fields. The monstrous Cerberus is merely a lonely doggie, and Hades is just an exhausted god swamped by all his work.
The TV show's vision of the Underworld doesn't have to match the book's. The musical adaptation puts its own entertaining spin on the Underworld, for example, complete with a puppet version of the Vienna Boys' Choir. Whether the TV series' Underworld is a bureaucratic mess or something entirely different doesn't matter, so long as it's something smart and original. If so, we think fans will be pleased.
Percy confronting his fatal flaw
In the third Percy Jackson book, "The Titan's Curse," the goddess Athena identifies Percy's fatal flaw. "To save a friend, you would sacrifice the world," she observes. Luke is counting on Percy to do exactly that when he kidnaps Percy's mother in the hopes of luring him into the Underworld in "The Lightning Thief." Percy's fatal flaw is so fundamental to his character that it would be a huge mistake for the TV show not to develop it. In fact, there's one important scene near the end of the book that absolutely needs to appear in the series.
In the Underworld, Percy finds his mother, but discovers that he cannot rescue her. Since Percy has only three magical pearls that can take him and his friends out of the Underworld, one member of the quest will need to stay behind. Although Annabeth and Grover volunteer to stay and Percy considers staying himself, he soon realizes that only he, Grover, and Annabeth can stop Ares' evil plan. So, Percy makes the painful choice to leave his mother behind, promising that he will come back to rescue her after he saves the world. This moment exemplifies huge growth in Percy: He's putting the greater good above his personal loyalties. We really can't imagine the TV show succeeding without this crucial scene.
Set-up for future seasons
While Season 1 of "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" should stand on its own, we would be lying if we said we weren't eager to see the Disney+ series start setting up upcoming seasons. The original "Percy Jackson" series is comprised of five books (not counting various spin-off series). If we're lucky, we'll get to see five seasons of TV. As the creators clearly know the story has potential for expansion, they might already be planting the seeds for future installments.
What kind of seeds would we like to see planted? Well, if Disney preserves the original ending of "The Lightning Thief" — and they'd be foolish not to — that means that Luke and Kronos will still be on the loose. And, although Percy does get to meet his dad, Poseidon, there are still plenty of demigods who feel abandoned by their godly parents. If the show stays true to the books, this tension won't be fully resolved until very late in the game.
We also want to see Season 1 explore how Annabeth, Grover, Luke, and Thalia first came to Camp Half-Blood. Not only is this critical to their characterizations, it's also a crucial plot point later on. Perhaps the show will even give fans some Easter eggs. It'd be pretty cool, for example, to see Bianca and Nico Di Angelo get a small cameo at the Lotus Casino.