The cast and creators of Disney+'s highly anticipated 'Percy Jackson' show discuss the differences between their work and the movies.
Almost a decade after the second and final installment of the Percy Jackson film series premiered in theaters, a fresh new adaptation is premiering on Disney+. Percy Jackson and the Olympians is hitting the streamer on Dec. 20, with the promise of being a more faithful adaptation of the books.
This time around, author Rick Riordan is intimately involved with the adaptation's production: the author revealed in a blog post that he served as executive producer, co-writing the pilot episode and creating a series bible for the series with co-showrunner Jonathan E. Steinberg, as well as planning the plot for the first season and creating ideas for potential future seasons.
ET chatted with Steinberg and co-showrunner Dan Shotz about their take on the beloved fantasy series, during which they shared their hope that fans will enjoy a series that strived to capture the book's true spirit.
"I think it's a franchise, a series of stories that really lives in tone and a sense of humor, in its sentimentality," Steinberg told ET's Ash Crossan when asked what their priorities were in adapting the books to the small screen.
"I think finding a way to be able to capture that tone and be able to move the story around when we needed to get it to fit into a medium was a conversation with Rick and Becky [Riordan], and making sure that there was no part of that translation that was going to sound false for them or make it feel like this wasn't the story that they brought to the table," he explained. "It needed to have its heart and soul in the right place. So making sure that was in order was really important."
Riordan's six-book series centers on Perseus "Percy" Jackson, a 12-year-old boy who discovers he's the son of a Greek god. Percy was aged up to a teenager for the two Logan Lerman-led films, but the TV series has stuck closer to the book's depiction of the titular hero.
Much like the first film, the series' first season will closely follow the first book, in which Percy winds up at a summer camp for fellow demigods and learns more about his lineage and how to use his newfound powers. When Percy is framed for stealing Zeus' lightning bolt, he and his friends embark on a frantic journey to find the real thief to prevent an all-out war between the gods.
The Adam Project's Walker Scobell snagged the role of the titular hero, with Leah Sava Jeffries and Aryan Simhadri, who will portray Annabeth Chase and Grover Underwood, respectively, rounding out the show's central trio.
Steinberg shared that the "biggest choice" made for the series was the decision to cast actors whose age aligned with the characters they were portraying, a factor that has notably worked for franchises like Harry Potter.
"[The choice was made] to really embrace the fact that this is a story about three people who are still children, who are just kind of moving into that phase in their life where they are emerging from that filter," he added. "I guess when, you know, you [begin] in childhood, it comes with a whole raft of complications when you make that choice, but it was important. And I think, you know, once you're on that path, I think a lot of other things start to focus in terms of what kind of story you're telling."
Riordan has been candid about his joy with the casting decisions, sharing his perspective on the process with his followers via his online blog.
"It was obvious to me and the rest of the team that Walker had the perfect mix of comedic timing, sweetness, rebelliousness, snark and heroism to embody our hero Percy Jackson," Riordan wrote in a blog post announcing that Scobell had been in cast in the role of the titular hero.
As for Jeffries' casting, Riordan wrote, "She is a brilliant actor who can break our hearts, make us laugh, and have us cheering for her all in the same scene. Leah is exactly the way I imagined Annabeth in the books: smart, strong, and courageous, a true daughter of Athena who has zero patience for the foolishness of a certain Seaweed Brain. Watching her act with Walker and Aryan, I saw Annabeth Chase come to life. As soon as you see her on the screen, you will know what I mean. The Wise Girl has arrived!"
Of Simhadri, Riordan wrote that he "had me laughing out loud with his delivery and timing. He has a mixture of sweetness, humor, and internal toughness that is perfect for our favorite satyr."
Shotz echoed the author's sentiment, praising their core trio's work on bringing their characters to life.
"I give Jon a lot of credit because he was the one who first saw [Scobell's] tape and said, 'Look at this kid,'" the showrunner told ET. "There was a rawness, there was an honesty that we didn't find anywhere else. Like there was just something so specific about him that you just believed every word he said."
Shotz noted that Scobell's passion for the project and connection to the book series went a long way in securing him the role. "He read them six times since third grade, and he was just so connected to this. He had mentioned that this was his dream role when he was a kid, and so this was kismet. Like there was just something about him that he was the one."
Scobell's love for the franchise is clear when he chats with ET, alongside Jeffries and Simhadri.
"I love the Percy Jackson fandom, I've been a part of it since I was in third grade," the 14-year-old gushed. "I do not want to let them down, you know? We've all tried very hard in this, so we want them to be excited for it."
Simhadri agreed with his co-star, saying, "With so much expectations on it, we don't want to let anybody down, most of all ourselves. We want to make something we would want to watch, too, as fans of the books."
Scobell noted that the show's episode format allowed them to get "almost everything [in] the books," to which Jeffries added that fans of the book series will appreciate the level of information and depth that the TV series incorporates in their rendition of the stories. Even those who haven't read the books will enjoy the level of detail.
"I definitely felt like if you haven't read the books... you gotta watch the series because we had a lot of the details from the books and stuff," she boasted, noting that the series also "adds a lot more" to flesh out the stories in the eight-episode season. "I really feel like if you haven't watched [the films], the series will be great for you 'cause you're not missing out on things that they couldn't fit in a two-hour movie."
Riordan previously hinted that the series will have extra elements in an Aug. 13 blog post. "The filming has followed the book story very closely, almost as if the author were involved himself!" Riordan wrote. "Sure, there are small tweaks and changes here and there, which were mutually agreed upon, but the biggest difference is the 'value added.' You will get peeks at character backstory, foreshadowing Easter eggs of things to come, and nuances in Percy's family history that I think you will love."
"The neat thing about revisiting this tale, almost 20 years after I first wrote it, is that I get to address some of the questions that fans have asked me over the years: 'What does this mean?' 'Why does this happen the way it does?' 'What would happen if —?' It's been really satisfying and fun," he added.
Talking to ET, Steinberg said they made sure that the "tweaks" didn't change much since "it's such a timeless story."
"You know, there's surprisingly little of it that doesn't still feel [right] 20 years later," he added. "I think a story about not fitting in and about how difficult it is to to watch someone you love not fit, it's the most universal experience. And so there was surprisingly little that felt like it was going to need to be updated in any meaningful way."
It's a refreshing change considering how many stories have been rebooted and reworked to fit more modern times, and is sure to reassure fans who are anxiously awaiting the latest adaptation of their favorite series.
"The connection people have to this story is unlike anything else I've ever seen," Steinberg said. "It's one thing to be a fan of a story; it's another thing to feel like that story is a part of who you are, a part of why you started reading, a part of coming to terms with the things that make you different than the other kids around. I think that creates a really strong bond and you see that [in] these crowds of people who are just dying to have this become real in a new way. It's a big deal."
Percy Jackson and the Olympians will premiere Dec. 20 on Disney+. The eight-episode first season will kick off with a two-episode premiere, followed by new episodes weekly.
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