‘Percy Jackson’ Series a Go at Disney+

Percy Jackson is getting a new life at Disney+.

The streaming platform has given a series order to Percy Jackson and the Olympians, based on author Rick Riordan’s best-selling series of novels. The project has been in development since May 2020.

“The wait is over, demigods,” Riordan said in a video announcing the series pickup. “I am thrilled to be the first to tell you that Percy Jackson and the Olympians is really, truly, and for sure coming to your screens.”

Disney’s 20th Television is producing the Disney Branded Television series. The studio was also behind a pair of movies based on the books, The Lightning Thief and Sea of Monsters, released in 2010 and 2013, respectively.

Fans of the book series were nonplussed by the movies, which aged up the characters and made other significant changes. Riordan is more closely involved with the series, writing the pilot with Jon Steinberg (FX’s The Old Man, Black Sails) and serving as an executive producer.

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Steinberg and his producing partner, Dan Shotz, will oversee the series. James Bobin (Disney+’s The Mysterious Benedict Society, The Muppets) is directing the first episode.

“With Rick Riordan, Jon Steinberg and Dan Shotz leading our creative team, we’re deep into creating a compelling TV series worthy of the heroic mythological characters that millions of Percy Jackson readers know are well-worth caring about,” said Disney Branded TV president Ayo Davis. “We’re eager to invite Disney+ audiences into stories that are true to the blockbuster franchise and full of anticipation, humor, surprise, and mystery.”

Added 20th TV president Karey Burke, “Bringing Rick Riordan’s brilliant Percy Jackson books to Disney+ as a television series has been a mission for so many of us at this company as well as for Rick himself, and Jon, Dan, James and the excellent team they have assembled have proven to be the perfect collaborators. Thanks to our friends at Disney Branded Television led by Ayo, and Disney Streaming led by Michael [Paull], this will be an adaptation for the ages, with all the excitement, action and mythology fans of the books expect and love.”

The Percy Jackson series follows a 12-year-old boy who learns that he is a demigod. He’s just coming to terms with his newfound supernatural powers when the sky god Zeus accuses him of stealing his master lightning bolt. Now Percy must trek across America to find it and restore order to Olympus.

A premiere date for the series hasn’t been set, nor has any casting been announced. Riordan, Steinberg, Shotz and Bobin will serve as executive producers along with Rebecca Riordan, Bert Salke, Monica Owusu-Breen, Jim Rowe and Gotham Group’s Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Jeremy Bell and D.J. Goldberg.