Author Rick Riordan has provided a hugely promising update regarding the production of the upcoming Disney+ adaptation of his novel Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Taking to his website, Riordan revealed that production on the series is moving at, well, a lightning-fast pace, with filming now up to the events of Chapter 9 ˘— which puts things almost halfway through the 22-chapter book.
Those who have read the book will know that Chapter 9 is an important point in the story of Percy Jackson, as it finds the young hero being offered a quest to find Zeus’ stolen lightning bolt. From here, the story sparks into life as Percy and his friends must embark on a journey that finds them coming face-to-face with Gods and various figures from Greek mythology in order to return the bolt to Olympus by the summer solstice.
“How much Percy content have we covered? Put it this way: If you were following along in the book, we have pretty much filmed through chapter nine in The Lightning Thief. That’s a big chunk of the story, but there is a massive amount of fun and games still to come!”
Riordan Heaped Praise on Director James Bobin & What Has Been Achieved So Far
Miramax Books
Riordan continued, heaping praise on Alice Through the Looking Glass and Dora and the Lost City of Gold director James Bobin, as well as revealing his excitement over what he has seen from the Percy Jackson and the Olympians adaptation so far.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians will follow 12-year-old demigod Percy Jackson as he comes to terms with his newfound supernatural powers. Not long after discovering his lineage, Percy is accused by the Greek god Zeus of stealing his lightning bolt, prompting him and his newfound companions, Annabeth Chase and Grover Underwood, to embark on a quest across America to find the bolt and restore order to Olympus.
“In general, we have now covered most of the principal photography for ‘block one,’ which has been overseen by our fearless directorial leader James Bobin. While we continue filming the subsequent episodes under the talented and able direction of Anders Engström and Jet Wilkinson, James will now retreat into his Fortress of Solitude and begin creating a director’s cut for the work he has done so far. Everything already looks so good in the raw footage, I can’t imagine how great it will be when James gets done choosing his favorite shots and putting them all together. Then the producers (including me) will do our revisions. Then the studio will put in their input.”
The series stars The Adam Project’s Walker Scobell as Percy Jackson, with Leah Sava Jeffries and Aryan Simhadri starring as his best friends Annabeth Chase and Grover Underwood, respectively. The rest of the cast includes Virginia Kull, Glynn Turman, Jason Mantzoukas, Megan Mullally, and Timm Sharp, with the casting of the Gods remaining a mystery.
The plan is for each season of Percy Jackson to adapt a book from the series, with Percy Jackson and the Olympians expected to be in production until January 2023.
