Much to the delight of fans of the young adult fantasy adventure series Percy Jackson & the Olympians, a teaser for the Disney+ adaptation of the property has been released, first debuting at D23 2022 and then uploaded to the streaming service’s official YouTube channel. The upcoming live-action series will feature a story written and executive produced by Rick Riordan, author of the original book series.
Announced in May 2020, the show’s story will follow the plot of the five-book series that follows titular 12-year-old protagonist Percy Jackson as he discovers that he is a half-blood and that his absentee father is actually Poseidon, the Greek God of the seas, natural disasters, and horses. Furthermore, he finds himself at the center of a prophecy and sinister plot that could spell the end of the world as he knows it and sets out on several adventures to thwart this.
The teaser greets fans with the first glimpses of Camp Half-Blood, a central location in the story and semi-permanent home to many of the story’s main and supporting cast. Voiceover is provided by lead actor and The Adam Project star Walker Scobell as he compellingly recounts an abridged version of the opening lines of The Lightning Thief, the first book in the series. Speaking over the fittingly grand music, Percy warns viewers of the difficulties that half-bloods experience in this nostalgic spiel. The teaser ends with a facial close-up shot of a distraught Walker in the rain as he concludes with, “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
Filming was reported to kick off earlier this year, with Riordan revealing casting decisions and other updates via his blog and social media in the interim. In addition to Scolbel, Leah Jeffries of Empire fame and notable Disney actor Aryan Simhadri will be playing the roles of Annabeth Chase and Grover Underwood, respectively, rounding out the series' main protagonists.
Despite online racism from fringe internet users, the general reception to both the casting choices and the teaser from members of the viewing public has been quite positive. In addition to his extensive behind-the-scenes responsibilities, Rick Riordan has taken a prominent role in the film's promotion, openly promising an accurate and loving adaptation of his award-winning book series. The monologue in the teaser goes a long way to assure longtime fans that the source material is very much front and center as well.
The reassurance is necessary, as the last attempt at a live-action adaptation of the series (similarly handled by 20th Century Studios) was received poorly by many. Riordan himself expressed disappointment in the 2 movie project, citing the many deviations from his work, including significantly altering the first 2 books' plot and aging up the story’s protagonist and much of the supporting cast. With the author himself supervising the project, hopes are high that this series will do things better than the movies.
While no release date is confirmed, it's speculated that Percy Jackson and the Olympians will premiere on Disney Plus in early 2023.