Rick Riordan’s bestselling “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” series is coming to Disney+ in a highly-anticipated new television adaptation. The show is expected to stay true to the books’ humor, heart and excitement, with a talented cast and crew bringing the beloved characters to life on screen.

     In this new series, 12-year-old Perseus “Percy” Jackson, a modern-day demigod, faces the challenge of reconciling with his newfound divine powers; meanwhile, the sky god Zeus accuses him of stealing his master lightning bolt. With his friends’ help, Percy seeks to return order to Olympus.

     The new “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” series premieres Dec. 20. Each season of the series will adapt one installment of the book series. The first season will consist of eight episodes that will be released weekly; this season will follow the storyline of the first book, “The Lightning Thief.”

     Fans are grateful that the series’ author, Rick Riordan, is helping work on this show to make it as accurate to the books as possible; Riordan worked together with showrunners Jon Steinberg and Dan Shotz in order to do this.

      The novels were previously adapted into a two-film series by 20th Century Fox in the early 2010s. These movies starred Logan Lerman as Percy, Alexandra Daddario as Annabeth Chase and Brandon T. Jackson as Grover Underwood. 

     Fans will sometimes jokingly call these movies the “Peter Johnson” movies, which is a name derived from a joke in the first book. The films’ plotlines were fairly inaccurate to the books, as important details and characters were omitted or changed drastically. The main characters were also aged up in order to attract more teenage viewers who were likely used to young-adult adaptations such as “Divergent” or “The Hunger Games.” However, Percy and Annabeth are intended to be 12 years old, not 16.

     The movies have been widely criticized by fans of the book series and by Riordan, who stated that he felt he “owed it to the fans to try [a screen adaptation] one more time.”

     Since Disney Entertainment owns the rights to Fox, they also own the rights to Percy Jackson. The new show is not a direct attempt at remaking the movies but is more of a fresh start. It will likely draw in a whole new generation of fans, along with those who grew up with the books. “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” stars Walker Scobell in the titular role. 

     On his official website, Riordan stated, “Walker had the perfect mix of comedic timing, sweetness, rebelliousness, snark and heroism to embody our hero Percy Jackson.”

     Scobell is known for his role in the Netflix film “The Adam Project,” in which he played the younger version of Ryan Reynolds’ character. 

   In regards to this casting choice, Reynolds tweeted, “I guess this makes me older Percy Jackson? Congrats Walker Scobell! You were always a demigod in my mind.”

     In addition, Aryan Simhadri is playing Grover, the satyr with the duty to protect Percy. Lea Jeffries is playing Annabeth, the daughter of Athena. 

     Alexandra Daddario, the last actress to portray this character, stated on Instagram, “Leah Jeffries is going to be an incredible Annabeth!”

   The casting of Annabeth has received minor backlash, but she was supported by both Riordan and Daddario.

     “You are judging [Jeffries’] appropriateness for this role solely and exclusively on how she looks,” Riordan stated. “The core message of Percy Jackson has always been that difference is strength… If you’re still upset about the casting… Then it doesn’t matter how many times you have read the books. You didn’t learn anything from them.”

     There is also an all-star cast playing the Greek gods and monsters in this series, with Toby Stephens as Poseidon, the late Lance Reddick as Zeus, Jay Duplass as Hades, Lin-Manuel Miranda as Hermes, Jessica Parker Kennedy as Medusa and Adam Copeland as Ares. 

     “We are devastated to hear of the untimely passing of Lance Reddick, our Zeus in season one,” Riordan stated. “I’ve been in shock… Trying to understand how such a vibrant, kind and talented man could be so quickly taken from the world.”

     Lin-Manuel Miranda, the one playing Hermes, the god of travelers, is well-known for being the creator of musicals like “Into the Heights” and “Hamilton.”

     “After Lin-Manuel took the role, it occurred to me that this is the second time he has played a god of commerce,” Riordan said. “Immortals, after all, never run out of time.”

     Luke Castellan, the son of Hermes, is being played by Charlie Bushnell. Something interesting fans have noticed is that Percy and Luke have “swapped” hair colors; the book featured Percy with black hair and Luke with blonde, but it is the other way around for the new show.

     Fans have also noticed something regarding the character Nico de Angelo, the son of Hades. In the books, he is in an ongoing relationship with Will Solace, the son of Apollo; if Nico is featured in the new series, then will inherently be Disney’s “first gay prince.” However, if each book is receiving its own season, then it is likely that viewers will not see this character on-screen until the show’s third season.

     Within 10 days of the initial release of the show’s trailer, it amassed approximately 84 million views, meaning the show has received a strong response from fans.

     Riordan stated, “We couldn’t have done it without the enthusiasm and support of millions of Percy fans making themselves heard.”

Abby Dreistadt, Editor in Chief