Percy Jackson and the Olympians is hitting the Disney+ screens later this year, and we've got everything you need to know about the show, including the release date, cast, trailer and more!
Ancient Greek mythology is pretty wild, and pretty underrated in modern cinema. Maybe Percy Jackson and the Olympians will change that, as the show is hitting Disney+ later this year. The series will show us the adventures of Percy Jackson (who would have thought), Annabeth and Grover as they fight their way through a world full of crazy challenges only the best of demigods could master. So here is everything you need to know about the show, including the release date, cast, trailer, plot and more.
Before diving deep, here's a little fun fact for you. In an interview with Romper, Riordan revealed that Percy's roots trace back to his very own child. When his son was diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia, Riordan spun these traits into hero material. Fidgety feet? Nah, those are just your battle instincts. Talk about parenting done right!
Percy Jackson and the Olympians | Release Date
Right on Percy's birthday, August 18th, we finally got a new trailer and the long awaited release date and the series is much closer than we expected!
Percy Jackson and the Olympians will start streaming on December 20th 2023 on Disney+. The first two episodes will be watchable and then more will release each week.
Don't forget, filming started in mid 2022 and finished at the start of 2023. Apparently, Riordan underestimated the extensive post-production and the visual effects going into the show. Being optimistic, that means they'll treat Percy with great care and take their time to give the show what it deserves: only the best!
Percy Jackson and the Olympians | Cast & Teaser
The first season has already been wrapped – but who did the acting in the first place? Take a look at Percy Jackson's main cast, courtesy of @PercySeries on Twitter (who's always quick to give you the newest updates).
First things first: Walker Scobell has been cast as Percy Jackson. His friends Annabeth Chase and Grover Underwood will be portrayed by Leah Sava Jeffries and Aryan Simhadri respectively.
If you've seen the movies, you'll notice that this cast is notably younger than the one we already know. Fans are pretty happy about that: it's way more book accurate. In the original books, Percy is only 12 years old, and now the show will reflect that.
We also have a whole list of the supporting cast for you:
- Threnody Tsai – Sarah
- Jason Gray-Standford – Maron
- Jelena Milinkovic – Nereid
- Ryan Cowie – Chaperone
- Lance Reddick – Zeus
- Toby Stephens – Poseidon
- Jessica Parker Kennedy – Medusa
- Timothy Omundson – Hephaestus
- Lin-Manuel Miranda – Hermes
- Megan Mullally – Alecto
- Jason Mantzoukas – Dionysus
- Suzanne Cryer – Echidna
- Glynn Turman – Chiron
- Adam Copeland – Ares
- Jay Duplass – Hades
And this is what it'll look like:
Percy Jackson and the Olympians | Plot
Percy doesn't have it easy – his ADHD and dyslexia lead to problems at school, at least until he discovers what his learning disabilities actually mean: he's a demigod. Greek mythology is real, and the reason he doesn't know his father is that his dad is actually Poseidon. Not that much time for caring for your children if you've got the ocean to oversee (pun intended).
After learning of his descent, he's sent to Camp Half Blood, where he meets other kids with the same family affliction. The Greek gods apparently have a thing for humans, and so Percy finds himself in the midst of other demigods, training for a war against the titans.
Thanks to the newest Trailer that Disney has released, we now know that the first season of Percy Jackson and the Olympians will follow the plot of the first book – Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief – just as we had originally presumed. If you haven't already read the Percy Jackson books, I can highly recommend doing so.
If you're not an avid reader – or perhaps you're dyslexic, just like Percy – the Percy Jackson and the Olympians book series is also available on Audible if you want to catch up on your Greek Mythology knowledge before the TV-series is released.
For those of you that haven't seen the trailer yet and aren't afraid of spoilers (although, to be fair, the books have been out for almost two decades), here's what we've been shown so far:
Twelve-year-old Percy Jackson has to come to terms with the fact that he's a demigod and the fact that his best friend Grover is a satyr and has been watching over Percy until he was old enough to join Camp Half Blood. Once Percy gets to the camp, he meets other demigods, like Annabeth and Clarisse.
But while Percy has to juggle the struggles of puberty and his newest revelation of being a demigod, he also has to find out who actually stole Zeus’ master bolt – as Zeus believes that Percy stole the Master Bolt in order to overthrow Zeus together with his father Poseidon. This search will take Percy on a great deal of adventures and, together with his friends Grover and Annabeth, Percy hopes to find – the Lightning Thief.
And excitingly: Rick Riordan has shared in his blog that work for season 2 has already started. He emphasizes that doesn't mean season 2 has been green-lit yet, but working on scripts for a possible second season could be a good sign!
Season 2 will probably be based on the second book in the Percy Jackson series – Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters.
If you want to delve into Riordan's thoughts, make sure to check out his blog every once in a while. Or just check out EarlyGame, we'll keep you updated as well!
