Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson book series was previously adapted for the big screen, but after two movies - Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief in 2010 and 2013's Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters - underperformed (by studio tentpole standards, at least) at the box office, the franchise was scrapped.
Now, Percy and his demigod pals are being given a new lease of life on Disney+ with a serialized take on the fantasy adventure novels set to premiere on the streaming service this December, and Riordan is confident that fans will be pleased with this re-adaptation.
"We have been involved in the series since its inception, since the very, very earliest conversations about what a new Percy adaptation might look like, how it would be sketched out, whether it would be episodic," the writer told EW in an interview. conducted prior to the start of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. "So, I feel comfortable telling fans of the books who have been waiting — in some cases, decades — for this kind of faithful adaptation, that this is the one you've been waiting for. We are involved and I think you're gonna love it."
The show may be sticking as close to the books as possible when it comes to the overall plot, but some changes have been made to the characters in order to present a story that is "more representative of the real world."
"I'm playing a character that is a different person, different hair color, different skin tones, and all that. That's what the prototype was," says Leah Jeffries, whose character Annabeth Chase is described as a blond white girl in the books. "Just to hear that I'm playing her different was like, 'Wow, I'm now gonna be an inspiration to other girls.'"
We're still waiting on a full trailer, but check out some new promo stills along with the previously-released teaser below, and let us know what you think in the comments section.
UPDATE: A New poster has also been released.
“Percy Jackson & The Olympians tells the fantastical story of a 12-year-old modern demigod, Percy Jackson, who’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.”
Percy Jackson and the Olympians is set to premiere on Disney+ on December 20.