It's been over 10 years since the Percy Jackson movie series ended and while it did cement Logan Lerman as the internet's boyfriend and give us one of the most iconic moments in cinema, it wasn't what original author and now co-creator of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians Disney+ series Rick Riordan had in mind.
"I think it's questionable whether we've actually had an adaptation before," Riordan told Cosmopolitan hours before the big premiere. "The movies were loved by a lot of people and I'm grateful that they brought people to the book. As adaptations, I don't think they did a particularly good job and that is one of the reasons that we wanted to do an adaptation that I felt was a good reflection of what the source material actually is."
This time nothing really goes past Rick or his wife, Becky Riordan, as they both worked on this series for almost four years from development to its big premiere. And it shows just how much they both mean to their fans as they walked out at New York Comic Con to a giant roar of the crowd as they presented some special clips.
"I think it surprised the studio execs because they had never gotten a chance to see the fan reaction," Becky added.
Even the cast and crew have been open about just how much they have worked on the series where even the finest of details had to be right. Production designer Dan Hennah even revealed at the convention that Becky told him a big piece of information that he couldn't find for himself because it was never revealed to the public before.
"When I was designing Thalia's tree, I had this amazing Tortured Cypruss tree and Becky said, 'It is an Eastern White Pine,'" he noted. "I said, 'I've read all through the books and I couldn't find what the tree was.' And she said, 'Oh, it's not in the books, but that's what it is.'"
"There are little touchstones throughout the series that I know resonate with fans that we need to get right," Becky said.
Costume designer Tish Monaghan also opened up about the process of making the iconic Camp Half-Blood shirts, something that would seem easy but actually involved testing 20 different shades of orange and later dying 350 of them in a giant cauldron that could only fit 19 at a time before they were then screen printed with the logo. And then there was also the 200 different pieces of armor that were mostly used for the Capture the Flag scene.
There will be some differences though, with co-writer and executive producer Jon Steinberg saying, "Rick and Becky's willingness to let the story breathe was really inspiring and really freeing in terms of knowing that they weren't there to sort of jealously protect the canon. They were there in the same spirit that I think we came to it, which is, this is gonna get adapted, some things are going to change in order to create the same feeling you had reading it."
Creating the world was only half the fun. With new backing from Disney and a home on Disney+, the next big thing was finding just who was going to bring these demigods, gods, and other familiar faces to life. This time, the trio of Percy, Annabeth, and Grover were going to be the same ages as in the books, which also meant casting younger actors.
"Even before we knew that these three kids were the ones, we had hours of conversations with the team and everyone was on board with this that our first priority had to be to protect our child actors," Rick said. "Second priority was making a great TV show. But we had to come together, we had to support them, and we had to be that village that raised those children right."
Walker Scobell, Leah Sava Jeffries, and Aryan Simhadri won the coveted roles, but it didn't come without some backlash, particularly to Jeffries over a Black girl playing what was previously seen as a white character. Rick immediately defended the casting on his personal page.
"I know, for me, it's very difficult for me to see my own characters any other way," he explained. "I've seen them on the screen and know. That's how influential they've been."
"The fans have to remember every single fan has their own vision of what they look like," Becky added. "This is just one iteration."
And soon came the never-ending flood of Hollywood A-listers and TV legends who wanted to take part.
"A lot of the actors were there because they had personal connections to the books. Their kids were fans, in many cases. And so if they brought their A-game, it was not only because, you know, they're professionals, but the kids at home were saying, 'Dad, Mom, you better not mess this up,'" Rick revealed.
Only the trio are named as starring actors with everyone else listed as guest roles, a pretty rare thing in TV for actors their age. Still, they are keeping up with the likes of Megan Mullally, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Jason Mantzoukas, and the late Lance Reddick in what now will be his final TV role.
"I know Ellen Pompeo works hard on Grey's Anatomy, but she's not there like these kids. They are the only three series regulars that are there every single day, all day," Suzanne Cryer who plays Echidna told Cosmopolitan at the show's premiere. "And they never once stopped being nice and trying and working hard and smiling. It's a real lesson for adults."
At the New York premiere at the Metropolitan Museum of Art—a big and important setting for Percy on his journey—a lot of cast members also noted that a huge part of them saying yes to the show had more to do with the different kinds of stories that Rick was presenting in the series.
Despite not appearing in the first book, the god Hephaestus was announced for season one and is played by Timothy Omundson who told Cosmopolitan that one of the main reasons why he wanted to play him was because of how his disability was portrayed on screen.
"It's not about the disability, it's just sort of is a part of who he is naturally," Timothy said. "To be able to play the sort of dignified, strong character whose disability has never defined him is a nice way to show the world that."
Jessica Parker Kennedy is not new to adaptations having played characters like Plastique in Smallville, Melissa Glaser in The Secret Circle, and most recently Nora West-Allen/XS in The Flash. But getting to play the legendary Medusa came with another big plus.
"I'm very much wanting to get her story across because I think a lot of people don't understand that she was a victim of abuse," she added. "I want there to be an element of relatability to her. Not that she ends up making all the greatest and best choices, but she's a really damaged person. It's heartbreaking and I am really scared of Medusa, but I also want to give her a big hug, you know?"
With only one more day left until the show premieres on December 20, 2023, fans only have a short amount of time before they get to see it for their very eyes. Rotten Tomatoes already has it at a whopping 96%. (Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief only got a rotten 48%.) The trailer has 7.3 million views and counting on YouTube alone. But for Becky and Rick, all it means is that they have to let the work speak for itself again.
"Now it's done and I don't have to worry about it anymore. There's nothing more I can do except put it up world and see how it does," he said.
Fans have already discussed what the future of the series would look like even without any of the episodes out yet. The Riordans already have plans, with season 2 already having a writers' room open. And if they have it their way, there will be so much more coming.
"We have 15 books, plus a new one, in the Percy Jackson universe. Magnus Chase is debatable whether that's in there too. It can be," Rick continued. "It would be wonderful if you know Disney, now that they have the rights, would adapt all of them."
But even with a massive new production and support from one of the biggest studios in the world, their main mission remains the same.
"The mindset hasn't changed. The mission of Percy Jackson, from the very first day I told it to my son, was representation. To show him that learning differences were not a weakness. They were a difference that were a strength and a superpower," he said. "As the fan base got bigger, I wanted to extend that kind of mission to make sure that the readers, in particular, felt seen, felt valued, and felt included. And that whoever you are, you belong at Camp Half-Blood and you can be a hero, and what sets you apart from everybody else is something to be celebrated."
Percy Jackson and the Olympians premieres on Disney+ on December 20, 2023, with two episodes. The series will continue airing a new episode weekly, every Wednesday, on the streamer.
