Rick Riordan and Disney made Percy Jackson fans very happy last year with the announcement of a Percy Jackson And The Olympians series in development for Disney Plus. Disney included Percy Jackson And The Olympians during the 2020 Disney Investor Day presentation and was happy to boast about how the announcement of the series “was the number one trending conversation in the world. It drove more than a million tweets in the first 24 hours.”
Rick Riordan and fans of the book series were less than thrilled with the film adaptations of the first two novels. But with Riordan being a crucial part of the Disney Plus series, fans have been ecstatic about the developing series.
The Riordan’s have made it a habit to keep the fandom updated on the series’ progress through Rick Riordan’s website and their social media. They have reported on everything from the announcement of the upcoming series, script updates, and even casting announcements. Riordan has even teased the possibility of the series using the stage craft technology famously used when filming The Mandalorian.
Percy Jackson And The Olympians’ Episode Count
Percy Jackson And The Olympians will cover the first book in the series, The Lightning Thief, during the first season. Percy Jackson fans have anxiously been awaiting more news on this highly anticipated series and The Illuminerdi can exclusively reveal that Percy Jackson And The Olympians Disney Plus series is set to have 8 episodes.
This is exciting news because while development has been moving along, an episode count gives fans an idea of how the novel could be covered in this new adaptation. With eight episodes, Percy Jackson And The Olympians should have plenty of time to explore the events of the 377 page novel, The Lightning Thief.
PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS
The Percy Jackson And The Olympians novel series follows the titular character as he discovers that his father is actually the Greek God Poseidon. Upon the discovery that he’s a demigod, Percy Jackson goes to Camp Half-Blood where the other half human children of the Greek Gods learn to fight and deal with the fact that they are the children of Gods. Percy befriends Grover Underwood, a satyr, and Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena. The series is full of the usual chaos that Greek Gods create including prophecies, quests, mystery, and more.
Percy Jackson And The Olympians series spans five novels, but grew far beyond into the larger Camp Half-Blood Chronicles franchise which includes The Heroes of Olympus and The Trials Of Apollo. And then expanding further, with two series set in the same universe exploring Egyptian mythology with the Kane Chronicles and Norse mythology with Magnus Chase And The Gods Of Asgard.
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Becky Riordan confirmed the Discussing Film exclusive in April that Percy Jackson And The Olympians found their co-writer in Black Sails co-creator, Jonathan Steinberg. Steinberg will also be executive producing the series with his producing partner Dan Shotz as part of their overall deal with Fox 21, the production company developing the upcoming series. She was also quick to assure fans that while the pair obviously understands adventure, due to their work on Black Sails, they do understand how to make Percy Jackson And The Olympians kid friendly.
CASTING PERCY JACKSON
Rick Riordan announced at the end of April that the search for the lead character Percy Jackson himself. The character description for Percy Jackson is below:
“[PERCY JACKSON] Playing 12, male. A smart, compassionate kid, with a sharp sense of humor. He’s always seen himself as an outsider, in no small part because of how the world sees his ADHD and dyslexia. He’s no wallflower though. He’s impulsive and rambunctious, and is quick to anger when things seem unfair to him. Sarcasm is just another service he offers, but beneath his cynicism is an affectionate son and loyal friend who just wants to do right by those he cares about. If only he could find a place where he fits in.”
Riordan made it clear in his blog post where he announced the casting process had begun, that they are looking for Percy to play 12 and hopefully, assuming all five season are made, the series will follow Percy from age 12 to 16 as the book series does. Riordan also made it clear that this is an open casting call with no specific ethnicity in mind, “We are looking for the best person who can embody the character we all know and love from the books.” He also explains that casting the other characters will be informed by who is cast in the role of Percy Jackson.
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With the Disney Plus series already shaping up to be a more faithful adaptation to the original novels, fans are right to be excited. With a co-writer who understands adventure and fantasy as well as the original creator working with 8 episodes to explore the story of The Lightning Thief, the first season alone looks like it has a good chance of living up to fans’ expectations.
What do you think about Percy Jackson And The Olympians being 8 episodes? Are you excited about the series? Who do you want to see cast as Percy Jackson? Leave your thoughts in the comments below or on our social media.
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