Percy Jackson's TV Show Is Already Avoiding The Movie's Fatal Mistakes
Despite being a long way from release, the upcoming Percy Jackson TV series is already avoiding the biggest mistakes made by previous film adaptations of the material. Originally announced back in 2020, the Percy Jackson TV series is now confirmed to be on its way to Disney+ with production moving swiftly ahead. Based on Rick Riordan's young adult novel series of the same name, Percy Jackson and the Olympians is set to follow the titular teen demigod on his quest to stop the Titans from destroying the world.
The first film adaptation, Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, was released in 2010. Directed by Chris Columbus, it stars Logan Lerman, Alexandra Daddario, and Brandon T. Jackson at the head of an impressive ensemble cast that also features a number of A-list actors. While it was a box office success, the film received a mixed critical reception, and the mistakes of the Percy Jackson movies then continued with the 2013 sequel, Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters. The follow-up was another box office success but critical disappointment, and any hopes the movie franchise had for further installments dissipated with its lukewarm reception. The biggest criticism was with the the films' deviation from the novels, particularly in their characterization of the franchise's heroes and the use of certain plot elements far too early in the series.
Now the franchise is in the process of being rebooted as a TV series, and so far, the new adaptation seems to be avoiding the past mistakes of the Percy Jackson movies. Not only did the movies not employ the input of the source material's author, but they also disregarded key aspects of his novels. By rewriting its main characters' ages and having certain monsters and characters appear far too early in the story, the movies effectively destroyed their own credibility with regards to being a faithful adaptation. However, the Percy Jackson TV show seems to be righting these wrongs even from its earliest stages.
One of the most obvious ways the Percy Jackson TV show is ensuring the series maintains the tone of Rick Riordan's books is by bringing in the author himself. Riordan is serving as an executive producer on the show, as well as working on the scripts, which will likely ensure a more faithful adaptation of the author's popular book series. This approach worked well for Harry Potter, which allowed JK Rowling input on the film franchise, with regards to making the adaptation as faithful to the source material as possible.
This not only acknowledges and addresses the Percy Jackson movies' issue with excessive creative license, but it also has an effect on the Percy Jackson TV show's marketing. Riordan has been offering regular updates about the show's progress throughout its production, sharing his excitement about the project in a way that he never did about the movies — which he was not involved with. While this may not be an assurance of the Percy Jackson show's overall quality, it does lend it some added credentials for those that were introduced to the franchise by Riordan's books.
Riordan's casting update for the Disney+ Percy Jackson TV show is encouraging, too. The movies were criticized — particularly by Riordan himself — for their changes to the central characters' ages, making the 12-year-old Percy much older in an attempt to appeal to an older audience. Riordan shared that the casting call for the series was looking for someone who "can play 12" for the lead role, indicating that the Percy Jackson series will feature a titular demigod much closer in age to his book counterpart, and that proved to be the case with The Adam Project's Walker Scobell cast as Percy Jackson. The age of the protagonist also implies that Disney hopes to continue Percy's story for a number of years, following the course of the book series by having its hero age as its goes.
Despite their box office success, the two Percy Jackson movies were harshly criticized for their haphazard handling of the books' stories. In both movies in the franchise, elements from later books were crammed into earlier stories in an attempt to up the drama, but this created significant problems with the studio's ability to continue Percy Jackson's narrative. However, the Percy Jackson TV series will avoid these issues by merit of the different medium in which it's being made.
It's been announced that Percy Jackson season 1 will consist of eight episodes. Assuming each of these episodes runs between 40 and 60 minutes, that gives the series at least double the time to tell the story of The Lightning Thief than the movie adaptation did. That means that the Percy Jackson TV series will have the opportunity to not only faithfully adapt Riordan's stories, but also to fully explore its world in a way that the movies simply couldn't.
While the overall critical reception of the Percy Jackson movies was mixed, the years since have not favored their reputation — particularly after Riordan voiced his disdain for the movies. However, many of the mistakes the Percy Jackson TV show must avoid aren't limited to the movies, but to the fantasy and young adult genres themselves. While there are obvious considerations in telling a coherent story that acts as a faithful adaptation, simultaneously pleasing existing fans and drawing in new interest to the franchise, there are also societal concerns in making the show: the Percy Jackson franchise has cultural problem that results in a general lack of diversity, and this is something the Disney+ series should address.
In addition, there are simple traps that adaptations — particularly in the young adult genre — often fall into. These include over-reliance on fan service, but also an underuse of the existing market that a fanbase provides, meaning that the Percy Jackson show will need to strike a delicate balance in order to achieve true success. However, as the franchise has long been awaiting a reboot, it would seem that Riordan's role in making it happen on Disney+ will be instrumental in helping the Percy Jackson TV show live up to its full potential.