(Photo manipulation by Nathan Rubin)
When Disney+ announced a TV adaptation of my favorite childhood book series, “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” (2005), in May 2020, the possibilities felt endless. A book-accurate adaptation of the story seemed inevitable, especially after the widely panned 2010 film adaptation “Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief,” directed by Chris Columbus. The Walt Disney Company was also coming off of a period of great prosperity: The Marvel Cinematic Universe was still in vogue with its recent success of “Avengers: Endgame” (2019), and the company launched Disney+ in November 2019, which seemed to be the perfect place for a new and improved adaptation of the Rick Riordan novel. Riordan, who would take on showrunning duties with Jonathan Steinberg would have the financial resources and creative freedom at Disney+ to finally do the source material justice — or at least I thought.
However, the notoriously unprofitable streaming platform and the drag on Hollywood production due to COVID-19 have made the series impossible to live up to expectations. What was originally a modern, book-accurate series in line with the financially lucrative Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2020 feels outdated and somewhat lackluster to audiences in 2024. Nevertheless, killer performances from the show’s three starring child actors, Walker Scobell as Percy Jackson, Leah Jeffries as Annabeth Chase and Aryan Simhadri as Grover Underwood still make the TV adaptation worth watching for die-hard fans and those seeking a dose of childhood nostalgia.
Admittedly, the show largely stays true to its promise of accuracy to the novel. While the 2010 film cast 18-year-old Logan Lerman in the titular role, the TV series’ age-appropriate casting of the main trio — Percy, Annabeth and Grover — signifies Riordan and Steinberg’s commitment to an accurate adaptation. Fans get to see a realistically young Percy discover his purpose and embark on a quest with his two best friends to save the world. The season also includes many classic scenes from the book that the 2010 film left out, such as Percy’s dramatic fall from the top of the Gateway Arch in St. Louis.
However, the production seems to forget that the heart of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians,” and any good story, is its characters. The computer-generated sets leave little room for dynamic, natural interactions between the main characters, making conversations feel slightly disjointed and overly glossy.
Rereading the book while watching the show, I noticed how the series altered several minute plot details to no other effect than reducing the chemistry between the characters and the allure of the fantasy world. In the books, Annabeth plays the crucial role of explaining to Percy his new identity, showing him around Camp Half-Blood and answering all his questions about the unfamiliar world of the Greek Gods he has just entered. However, Percy’s mother, Sally Jackson (Virginia Kull), and veteran camper Luke Castellan (Charlie Bushnell), take on this duty in the show.
While Riordan and Steinberg may have been trying to give Luke’s eventual betrayal more weight and provide more depth to Percy’s relationship with Sally, taking screen time away from Percy and Annabeth was a strange choice, especially because their relationship is arguably the most important part of the novels. The writers possibly made such choices due to scheduling conflicts with the actors and production high jinks that prevented Scobell and Jeffries from filming together. That is the magic of the mouse though: We will never know.
Episode 6 takes Percy and his friends to the Lotus Hotel and Casino, a place where godly and mortal beings alike lose their sense of time and linger in the slot machines for years or even decades. The Lotus Hotel and Casino is a highlight of “The Lightning Thief,” both in the 2005 novel and in the 2010 film. As much as I love Dua Lipa, hearing “Levitating” (2020) instead of Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face” (2008) as the trio walks through the casino made me nostalgic about the 2010 film.
The quick pacing steals the essence of the plot: Instead of getting lost in the aimless fun of the hotel, the trio immediately realizes its magical curse. The Lotus Hotel and Casino is memorable because it allows Percy, Annabeth and Grover to be the kids they never got to be. In a strange decision by the writers, the show deprives the trio of that option and instead makes confusing and unimportant plot changes.
The last two episodes, however, use computer-generated sets and stage combat to a great effect. While the background for Percy’s one-on-one fight with Ares (Adam Copeland) is clearly computerized, the battle has intensity and heart because of incredible acting performances. The renderings of the Underworld and Olympus are nothing short of stunning. Percy’s trip to Olympus to return Zeus’ (Lance Reddick) lightning bolt leads him to meet his father, Poseidon (Toby Stephens), for the first time. Reddick is incredible in his final on-screen appearance before his death, and Stephens impeccably plays Poseidon as the laid-back distant dad that Riordan imagined in his novels.
Overall, the finale demonstrates the strengths of the series as a whole: great acting and decent writing. Yet, it also illustrates the show’s faults: shaky computer-generated worldbuilding that fails to uphold the fantasy in the novels and awkward camera work that makes character interactions feel spliced and unnatural.
Although not official yet, a second season of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” based on the second installment of the book series, “The Sea of Monsters,” seems likely. However, loyal fans’ expectations for Riordan, Steinberg, the writers’ room and Disney+ will only increase. Avid readers, including myself, place the original book series up there with — or even above — “Harry Potter” (1997) and “The Hunger Games” (2008) in terms of what constitutes the best childhood book series. As such, we expect screen adaptations that similarly plunge viewers into the fantastical worlds of the novels visually as well as impeccable casting and writing that allow for these characters to resonate with us as deeply as they did on book pages. Unfortunately, Disney+ currently has neither the budget nor the imagination to create bodies of work as meaningful and heartfelt as the “Harry Potter” (2001) or “The Hunger Games” (2012) films. I will eagerly watch future installments of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians,” but I will mourn what could have been if the series found a home with a studio that prioritizes storytelling.
