Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan is a beloved, best-selling book series about a 12-year-old named Percy Jackson who happens to be the son of the Greek god, Poseidon. The 5-book series follows Percy as he discovers his background, faces challenges, and goes on quests from the gods. Along with Percy, other prominent characters are Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena, and Grover Underwood, a satyr (half-man-half-goat).
Percy Jackson–since the first book’s release in 2005–has gained a massive fan following. Since then, the series has been adapted into two movies, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, The Lightning Thief, and Percy Jackson and the Olympians, The Sea of Monsters. However, movies were not made for the remaining three books in the series. In December 2023, a Percy Jackson and the Olympians series debuted on Disney Plus. Unlike the movies, it was met with enthusiasm from fans of the books.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians, The Lightning Thief, released in February of 2010, grossing $226 million. Percy Jackson and the Olympians, The Sea of Monsters released August 2013, grossing $200 million. The movies, while modeled after the books, had some blatant differences, which offended many fans of the books. For one, the main characters, Percy and Annabeth, were aged sixteen in the movies even though they were only twelve in the books. While this may not seem like too consequential of a change, those who have read the books will argue that it entirely changes the premise of the story.
The first two movies therefore did not attract many fans, and no movie adaptations were made of the remaining three books in the series. However, the Disney Plus series is widely loved by fans despite arguably being almost as inaccurate. While the differences aren’t as galling, they are still present and quite significant.
Part of the reason behind the TV series’ success was the marketing and fan service. The three main actors, Walker Scobell, Leah Sava Jeffries, and Aryan Simhadri–who play Percy, Annabeth, and Grover, respectively–have appeared on social media and various talk shows, allowing fans to become better acquainted with them.
The actors, while portraying the characters differently from how they are written, display a respect for the original work, which may be why the fans have been much more accepting of them. Age may also be a factor. The new cast of actors is only a few years older than the characters they play. The cast of the movies were adults playing teenaged characters for teenaged fans, and thus couldn’t connect to the fanbase.
Overall, though the movies were very different from the books, and this upset many fans, people agree that the movies themselves aren’t badly made. When viewed on their own, without being compared to books, they are arguably quite good. The same could be said for the Disney Plus series, which is seen as very compelling and well-made in its own right, not just as an adaptation of the books.
