The fans of the "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" book series know well enough that its author, Rick Riordan, hated the movies. Riddled with inaccuracies, the films were something Riordan didn't want to be associated with. The show, however, is more loyal to the books.
Rick Riordan's Involvement in the Show
Unlike the "Percy Jackson" movies, Disney allowed Rick Riordan to be more involved in the production of the Disney+ show. The author was previously frustrated, so much so that he "basically wrote off Hollywood for a long, long time."
Fox managed to create two movies based on the books called "Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief" and "Percy Jackson & the Olympians: Sea of Monsters." It eventually stopped there despite there being three more books to cover.
Riordan says that he didn't want anything to do with the film industry and that for years, he kept saying that he didn't want to engage or to think about other adaptations. However, it "started to become clear that something was going to happen with me or without me," says the author.
With that realization, the "Percy Jackson" creator talked to his wife Becky, who is very much involved in the franchise, coming to the conclusion that it was "probably best to give it one more shot," as reported by Gizmodo.
He did explain that after going through the production process, he understood why older actors were cast since they were easier to work with. However, having older teens led to a "completely different dynamic" and that "you lose so much of the wonder."
After all, the book series' target readers were children to young adults. With that said, Riordan refers to the cast as "perfect" and fits better with his plans if Disney decides to adapt the other books as well.
President of Disney's 20th Television Karey Burke said that the company wants them all and that in spite of the movie experience that he had before, Riordan is an expansive thinker about his work. That means that we might see way more of the show in the future.
What to Expect?
Given that Riordan is more involved with the production as opposed to the film, we can expect to be more loyal to the source material. It will have the essence that made readers fall in love with the universe of "Percy Jackson" as they grew up.
Plus, the show did not skimp out on the budget, with reports saying that the show costs as much as "The Mandalorian," which spends up to $15 million per episode. Based on the trailers alone, we will be seeing a more accurate depiction of the elements in the books.
For instance, the camp will be more accurate based on the descriptions in the books, particularly each cabin dedicated to each of the Greek gods, also serving as a home for the demigods they have spawned.
We also see Walker Scobell, the actor who will play the titular character, wearing a Camp Half-Blood shirt, which was not included in the movies. We will see more of the show soon this December 20th, when Disney+ will start off with two episodes.
