See The First Look At The New Percy Jackson Series
Percy Jackson is being rebooted on the Disney+ platform, and we have a look at the new series adapted from the popular books.
For the past two decades, young adult and kid’s books have been a treasure trove of content for movies and TV shows. Everything from The Hunger Games and Harry Potter to Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Chronicles of Narnia, there is no shortage of films adapted from children’s and young adult fiction. One of the most popular book series that has yet to find consistent success on screen is the tale of Percy Jackson and his discovery that he is a demigod, as the son of an Olympian god from Ancient Greece. Disney+ is taking on the task of turning the franchise around by bringing Jackson and his fellow Greek God allies to the small screen with a new series. Fans were treated to a new first look at Percy Jackson and the Olympians among the many trailer drops and announcements fans at D23.
The trailer consists of narration from Percy Jackson, warning others who may believe they are a half-blood (half human, half Greek God) to stay away and believe whatever lies their parents told them. He warns that if they start to suspect who they are, they will sense it too. He alludes to the idea that if they come out as half-bloods, they will make themselves a target of enemies looking to destroy any offspring of the Gods of Mount Olympus. The trailer sees Percy Jackson walking through Camp Halfblood, passing signs for archery and other skills typically mastered by demigods. He is stared at by other half-bloods who watch him walk alone into a bunk with the symbol for his father, the God of the Ocean, Poseidon.
The series had the task of casting a multitude of beloved characters, including a trinity of child heroes similar to Harry, Ron, and Hermione from Harry Potter. The first character they had to get right was the titular hero, Percy Jackson. The young boy whose father left him before he could remember and whose mother married a horrible-smelling man. The boy discovers later that his father was Poseidon, and the smelly stepfather was an attempt by his mother to mask his smell from those that would harm him. Casting Jackson needed to be someone young enough to pull off a middle school hero but talented enough to carry an entire series on his own. They landed on young Walker Scobell, known for convincingly playing a younger version of Ryan Reynolds in the Netflix hit, The Adam Project.
The rest of the cast sees Percy Jackson’s close friend Annabeth Chase played by Leah Jeffries, who recently portrayed Idris Elba‘s daughter in Beast. Annabeth is Athena’s daughter and knew who she was at a much younger age. Their lovable satyr sidekick, Grover, is played by Aryan Simhadri, known for multiple Disney productions, including Cheaper by the Dozen and Trevor the Musical. Other cast members include Jason Mantzoukas, Megan Mullally, and Virginia Kull. In addition to this adaptation, a proposed Netflix adaptation of author Rick Riordan’s other series, The Kane Chronicles, based on Egyptian mythology, pulled him out of impending retirement.
