Percy Jackson fans, the gods have blessed us this day with a teaser trailer of pure awesomeness.
Disney Plus hath unleashed the first footage for the upcoming Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, and it doth please the Olympians. Even better, it should please all the bibliophiles out there. The reveal occurred during Saturday’s D23 Expo.
The original five-book series of middle-grade novels, written by Rick Riordan, told the story of sixth-grader Percy Jackson as he discovers that he is no ordinary pre-teen but rather a demi-god. As the half-human son of Poseidon, he is in constant danger from threats of monsters straight from Ancient Greek mythology. To protect and train him, Percy is whisked away to the magical Camp Half-Blood with the rest of the gods’ children. It’s not until he learns of a mysterious prophecy that his adventure truly begins.
This isn’t the first live-action attempt at a Percy Jackson adaptation. Logan Lerman starred in two Percy movies, 2010’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief and its sequel, 2013’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Sea of Monsters. Neither movie was received particularly well. Rotten Tomatoes’ critical rating gave both films certified Rotten rankings. Book fans were particularly miffed, as the screen versions veered far from the source material. Besides simply atrocious storytelling, the main complaint was that Lerman was too old for the part, as Percy was 12 in the first book. Disney Plus has heard those cries, and it appears it has been corrected with the new series, with Riordan claiming he would “fix” the series.
Although no official release date has been announced, it was previously reported that Percy Jackson’s new series will land on Disney Plus sometime in 2024.