We Now Know Who Will Direct The Pilot For The Disney+ Percy Jackson Series
Every day, the Disney+ "Percy Jackson" television show gets closer to completion. The live-action series will likely arrive on the streamer a decade after the two not-so-well-received film adaptations of Rick Riordan's classic young adult adventure novels, 2010's "Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief" and 2013's "Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters." Like the books, both movies incorporated elements of Greek mythology and featured breakout performances from Logan Lerman and Alexandra Daddario.
In 2020, Riordan revealed plans for a "Percy Jackson" TV adaption on Twitter, which Variety later confirmed. Since then, the series is in the midst of pre-production. This week, the upcoming Disney+ live-action series has landed a director to oversee the pilot episode. As the first live-action adaptation to go into production following "Sea of Monsters," whether or not the series succeeds hinges on the quality of its opening episodes. Thankfully, Disney's pick in a pilot director is already earning a big thumbs up from Riordan.
Director James Bobin will helm the Disney+ Percy Jackson pilot
Thanks to "Percy Jackson" author Rick Riordan, we now know the man Disney chose to helm the "Percy Jackson" television pilot is James Bobin. The director has secured Riordan's blessing, which the author bestowed while announcing Bobin's hiring on his blog. He wrote, "Our pilot director will be James Bobin, who is both a terrific person and an incredibly talented director who checks all the boxes we were hoping for in a partner. [...] James knows the 'Percy' books well. His kids are fans. His humor is wonderful. We are in good hands, demigods, and lucky to have him joining our team."
Previously, Bobin made a name for himself in the realm of young adult-friendly features. According to his IMDb profile, he's overseen the live-action "Dora the Explorer" film starring Isabela Merced, as well as both 2011's "The Muppets" and 2014's "Muppets Most Wanted." More recently, he directed an episode of the charming Disney+ series "The Mysterious Benedict Society."
Bobin joining this epic project should spell good news for longtime fans of "Percy Jackson" who remain apprehensive about a new live-action adaptation. Per a report from Collider, Riordan has been much more involved in this Disney+ series than he was with the movies, an experience he blogged about in 2018. It could very well mean there is a much greater chance of faithfully adapting the novels and their mythology-inspired characters for the streaming service.