Greece LIGHTNING!
What to expect from the latest addition to the Percy Jackson franchise
PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS
FROM WEDNESDAY 20 DECEMBER, DISNEY+ FANTASY DRAMA (FIRST TWO EPISODES FROM WED 20 DEC, THEN WEEKLY)
Adangerous quest entwines with Greek mythology in glossy fantasy drama Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Launching on Disney+ this week, the eight-parter is based on Rick Riordan’s bestselling young-adult book series of the same name, which have previously been adapted into two feature films in 2010 and 2013 with The Lightning Thief and Sea of Monsters.
The epic new reworking follows 12-year-old social outcast Percy Jackson (played by rising star Walker Scobell) as he learns the shocking truth that his estranged father is a Greek god.
For his own protection, Percy’s mother, Sally (Virginia Kull), takes him to Camp HalfBlood, a sanctuary where demigods – the offspring of a god and a human – learn to harness their supernatural abilities.
But unlike many of the other children there, Percy doesn’t know which god his father is, so he has a lot of catching up to do!
‘Greek mythology is pretty heavy stuff,’ says Rick, who is the co-creator and executive producer of the TV series, as he joins TV Times for an exclusive interview. ‘I think one of the reasons it’s stayed around for so many thousands of years is that it touches on deeply fundamental human situations: love and hate, war and revenge, heroes and villains. It’s all right there!’ When sky god Zeus (Lance Reddick, who has sadly passed away since filming finished on the show) accuses Percy of stealing his master lightning bolt, the youngster and his friends
Grover (Aryan Simhadri) and Annabeth (Leah Sava Jeffries) must embark on a quest to retrieve it and avert all-out war.
‘You’ll see how Percy develops as a hero across the series,’ says executive producer Rebecca Riordan, who is married to Rick. ‘In the TV show, we were able to expand on the relationships between the kids and how
Percy fits in. These kids bring so much talent to the show; it’s been breathtaking. Walker was born for this role!’
They’ll be joined by some bigname guests, including Megan Mullally as Percy’s mysterious maths teacher, Mrs Dodds, and Lin-manuel Miranda as messenger god Hermes.
‘Readers of the books will know that, at one point, there’s a fight against the god of war, Ares,’ says Rick. ‘He’s played by [professional wrestler] Adam Copeland. I know Walker was excited all season long to get to that one scene – and he was right to be because it is spectacular!’