The new Disney+ series Percy Jackson and the Olympians has officially begun filming. The show is based on the best-selling books by award-winning author Rick Riordan. James Bobin is directing the pilot episode and shared a photo from the set today confirming the first day of shooting.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by James Bobin (@jamesbobin)
Bobin is best known for directing The Muppets (2011), Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016), and Dora and the Lost City of Gold (2019). Most of his films have been family-friendly, which should also apply to Percy Jackson. Fans of the books will be pleased to hear that Rick Riordan is contributing to the writing for the pilot alongside Jon Steinberg. Steinberg is known for his work on Apply TV’s See (2019) and Black Sails. The cast and crew will be hoping for more success than the previous adaptation of the books. Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief and Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters are considered to be a failure. Financially, neither movie performed exceptionally well, especially within the United States. The Lightning Thief received mediocre reviews, while Sea of Monsters was deemed terrible by most critics.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by James Bobin (@jamesbobin)
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
What to Expect from Percy Jackson and the Olympians
First, you can expect an entirely new cast for the Disney+ series. One of the significant complaints regarding the prior films was the age of Percy and his friends, which seems to be solved with the new show. In the 2010 film, Percy Jackson, played by Logan Lerman, was 18 years old compared to his 12-year-old counterpart from the books. However, while filming, Walter Scobell (The Adam Project), who plays Percy, is 13, representing something far closer to Riordan’s vision. Joining Scobell are Jason Mantzoukas, Leah Jeffries, and Aryan Simhadri.
The story will follow Percy Jackson, a demigod who is just coming to terms with his power. The sky god Zeus accuses young Percy of stealing his famed lightning bolt, and he and his friends, Grover and Annabeth, must travel on the adventure of a lifetime to get it back. It’s unknown when the series will premiere on Disney+, as the filming just began in Vancouver, and after wrapping, they will need months for post-production. Fans of the books can hope to watch the series sometime in 2023, although it could take even longer.
