“Percy Jackson and the Olympians” is an iconic middle-grade fantasy book series that delves into the world of Greek gods and goddesses with modern twists — Mount Olympus floats atop the Empire State Building, monsters invade Manhattan and the god Dionysus drinks Diet Coke. The original series came out in the late 2000s, and many FHS students grew up reading them.
“I just saw it as this amazing new world that I immediately fell in love with,” FHS senior Raine Babcock said.
Though the finale of the original series came out in 2009, author Rick Riordan kept his foot on the gas, releasing spin-offs such as “The Kane Chronicles” featuring Egyptian gods, ”Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard” centering around Norse mythology and “The Heroes of Olympus” introducing the Roman pantheon and including characters from the original pentalogy. Despite the new characters and structure, fans still see the same magic.
“You would think it would die out after a while, but I actually think he’s doing a great job with keeping it up and making it just as enjoyable as the first book,” Babcock said.
In addition to the spinoff series, the Percy Jackson universe, referred to as the “Riordanverse” by fans, has seen a variety of adaptations, including comic books, video games and even a musical. In 2010, fans finally received a much-anticipated cinematic adaptation directed by Chris Columbus. However, the series fell far short of fans’ expectations.
“I don’t think it was a very good adaptation,” FHS senior Skylar Sardella said. “I think it wasn’t really true to the source material as much as it should have.”
The movie series included several deviations from Riordan’s original work: the characters were aged up, parts of the plot of the fifth book appeared in the second movie and the primary protagonist of the first book was eliminated. Riordan repeatedly lambasted the adaptations and lamented his lack of creative control.
“When I first read the script I’ll admit I was plunged into despair at just how bad it was,” Riordan stated in an email correspondence released on his website in which he pleaded with producers to make changes. “If I were intentionally trying to sabotage this project, I doubt I could have done a better job than this script.” Riordan has publicly, explicitly, and repeatedly denounced the movie adaptations.
“It’s my life’s work thrown into a meat grinder,” he said in a 2020 tweet. Fans had similar criticisms.
“Some scenes they took out should have been there, some scenes they still had didn’t need to be there, and they added some scenes that I didn’t really appreciate,” Babcock said. “It also just didn’t feel right, like it didn’t feel like Percy Jackson.”
Despite the debacle of the movies, fans of Percy Jackson have been given new hope. In May 2020, Disney announced the development of a Percy Jackson TV show adaptation. This adaptation features a brand-new cast — this time properly reflecting the ages of the characters in the series — and most importantly, far more creative control by Riordan. The author serves as co-creator of the show along with Jonathan E. Steinberg and is involved in writing the episodes and casting the characters.
“Rest assured, these actors are 100% my choices, my decisions, and I could not be happier with how things are going,” Riordan said in a blog post on his website. With Riordan’s increased control over production, fans are more eager for the new adaptation.
“I think it’s really great that he’s being able to get more creative control over the TV show than in the movies,” Sardella said.
The cast of characters features names such as Jason Mantzoukas as Dionysus, Lin-Manuel Miranda as Hermes and Lance Reddick as Zeus. The show stars 14-year-old Walker Scobell as Percy Jackson, known for playing the young version of the titular character in “The Adam Project.”
“Every actor just feels like they were made for that role,” Babcock said. “It just feels real and it feels like they’re really bringing the book to life.”
However, not everyone is happy with the cast, with much backlash for one character in particular: Annabeth Chase, part of the book’s trio of protagonists — and later Percy Jackson’s love interest—is played by Black actress Leah Jeffries. Many fans took issue with this given the character’s description in the book as a “stereotypical California girl” with blonde hair, claiming that her being looked down upon for being blonde was important to her character. After the casting, Jeffries faced online harassment and racism.
“I think it’s ridiculous. For the most part, I think it’s just people badly covering up the fact that they’re racist,” Sardella said. “And I think that her being a person of color can really highlight the experience of being looked down upon for something that you can’t change.”
From rereading the series to keeping up with Rick Riordan’s newer books, the “Riordanverse” still has a place in the hearts of many who grew up reading Percy Jackson. Despite the disappointment with the original movies, fans are excited to see the media universe continue to expand.
“I’m so excited to see this series and see it come to life and from everything I see, I feel like it’s going to be an amazing series,” Babcock said.
With the show coming out on December 20, fans of Percy Jackson and the “Riordanverse” can look forward to experiencing a second chance for an on-screen adaptation of the beloved book series.
