Is there a movie for the Heroes of Olympus series?

Mark your calendars, demigods. Disney+ is currently developing an adaptation of Percy Jackson and the Olympians that will hopefully outdo the Logan Lerman film series. Not to be optimists, but we’re pretty excited for this trip to Camp Half-Blood. For one, the episodic nature of a TV show seems like it will fit the Rick Riordan series, in which the characters travel their way through modern-day versions of Greek myths. Also? They cast kids in the lead roles, as opposed to moody teenagers like the movie. Riordan has been much more involved in this version of Percy Jackson than the 2010 film adaptation. “They should censor the entire thing,” he tweeted about the movie in 2020. “Just two hours of blank screen. We’re gonna fix it soon.” As in, this time, he’s on set and posting about it on his blog. Below, everything the gods at Disney+ have shared about the upcoming series.

Who’s in the cast of this thing?

On the Percy front, Walker Scobell is on a titular-role streak. First he was Adam in The Adam Project (technically one of two Adams with Ryan Reynolds), and now he’s Percy in the Disney+ adaptation of Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Riordan announced the casting on his website. “I got to deliver the news to Walker personally via Zoom back on Jan. 28 that he had been chosen for the part,” he wrote, “and it was a magical moment that made me feel for the first time: ‘Okay, this is real. This is worth all the waiting and the hard work. This project is going to be amazing.’”

Four months later, Percy Jackson (Riordan’s Version) cast its Grover Underwood and Annabeth Chase. The official Percy Jackson series Twitter announced on May 5 that Leah Sava Jeffries (Empire) and Aryan Simhadri (Cheaper by the Dozen) have joined the official trio for the Disney+ show. Riordan blogged about the completed trio, promising fans that they “will do you proud.” Mr. Hamilton himself, Lin-Manuel Miranda, is playing the god with the best shoes, Hermes, whose son Luke is a … big deal in the first book in the series. Just saying.

The Greek chorus continued to fill up, with Variety announcing five more cast members during Percy Jackson’s first week of production in Vancouver last month, including Jason Mantzoukas and Megan Mullally, two comedy favorites. The Big Mouth and Brooklyn Nine-Nine star Mantzoukas will play Dionysus, a.k.a. Mr. D, the camp counselor for Camp Half-Blood while the Will & Grace and Party Down star Mullally will play Alecto, a.k.a. Mrs. Dodds, a math teacher who is one of the three Furies who are loyal to Hades. Joining them in the Riordan-approved adaption are Virginia Kull (Super Pumped), Glynn Turman (Women of the Movement), and Timm Sharp as Percy’s mother, Chiron a.k.a. Mr. Burner, and Percy’s stepfather, respectively. Industry’s Jay Duplass will play the god of the Underworld, Hades, while Psych’s Timothy Omundsen will play the god of blacksmiths, Hephaestus.

What should fans expect?

We don’t have a ton to go off of yet, but we do have a little teaser trailer. Based on that, we’ve seen bright color-grading, kids who are at an age where they actually look like they could go to camp, and an appropriately ominous voiceover from our titular Percy. “Being a half-blood is dangerous,” he says.

When does it come out?

There isn’t an official release date quite yet, but original series author Rick Riordan has provided us with an estimate. According one of Uncle Rick’s blog posts, the Disney+ series is “on track” with its schedule and will likely finish filming season one in December 2022 or January 2023. Factoring in time for post-production, the author’s “personal best guess” is that the show will air in early 2024. However, that blog was later deleted, and in its place is a very similar blog post which has none of that information. Just gonna assume that means it’ll be here even sooner than expected.

Every passing day brings the Percy Jackson and the Olympians TV show closer to existence. Following the unpopular movie adaptations Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Lightning Thief and Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters in the 2010s, original author Rick Riordan announced last spring that he would be producing a new TV adaptation of his beloved YA fantasy series about demigods and Greek mythology for Disney+. The COVID-19 pandemic last year made further progress difficult, but on Sunday Riordan posted an update to his blog to make fans aware of the latest developments.

"So where are we? Well, if I haven't been giving you updates as frequently as you'd like, that's just because there is really nothing new I can announce yet," Riordan wrote. "We continue to work behind the scenes, however, on many fronts at once, and everything is still moving forward. The big piece we are concentrating on now is finding the perfect director to join our team."

Riordan then listed the four main requirements they're looking for in a Percy Jackson director: Are they available? Are they able and willing to work with young actors? Are they someone the folks at Disney can get excited about and feel confident about? Are they someone who knows, loves, and understands the Percy Jackson source material?

PERCY JACKSON & THE OLYMPIANS: THE LIGHTNING THIEF

From left, Brandon T. Jackson, Logan Lerman, and Alexandra Daddario in "Percy Jackson & the Olympians."

| Credit: Everett Collection

Despite these requirements, Riordan notes that finding a director "seems to be the last major hurdle before we can get rolling on the project in earnest." With the pilot script complete and the season 1 outline set — the plan is to tackle each book in the series per season, starting with The Lightning Thief — finding a director will allow Riordan and his team to begin the next stage of the process: casting.

"I cannot stress enough what a huge 'win' that is, and it really did take the better part of 15 months to get there," Riordan says of finishing the pilot script and season outline. "When this series moves forward (fingers and toes crossed, of course) I am confident it will be the show we've been waiting for. As soon as I know more, I will update you. Until then, stay safe and well, and keep reading!"

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