Any Percy Jackson fan could tell you how horrible the 2010 Percy Jackson movies were. Thankfully, Rick Riordan, the author, seems to be looking for repentance with his new Disney+ Percy Jackson TV show.
The show follows a neurodivergent 12-year-old Percy Jackson, played by Walker Scobell, who has had a rough life, having been raised by a single mother and failing out of six separate schools. Everything changes for him when he finds out the truth about his father, a god. As Percy grapples with his new demigod status, he is suddenly accused by the Greek god Zeus of stealing his thunderbolt and is sent on a quest with his new mythical friends, fellow demigod Annabeth Chase, played by Leah Jeffries, and satyr Grover Underwood, played by Aryan Simhadri, to find the bolt and restore order to Olympus.
Right off the bat the show was built up to fix all of the movie’s mistakes. Riordan was allowed to write the script, which helped keep the show in tune with his original vision for the books. Along with that, all of the actors playing children were actual children! Thankfully it’s unlike the movies, which had an adult playing a 16-year-old Percy Jackson, who should have been 12.
Sadly, not everyone was as psyched about the casting as I was, with hate being sent to one of the child actors, Jeffries, by people who were upset that her race did not match the book characters. Riordan responded to this harassment with an eloquent statement: “I have been clear, as the author, that I was looking for the best actors- and that physical appearance was secondary for me”.
“The core message of Percy Jackson has always been that difference is strength- that neurodivergent kid who has failed out of six schools, for instance, may well be the son of Poseidon. Anyone can be a hero,” Riordan wrote. The story “fully honors the spirit of Percy Jackson and the Olympians, taking the bedtime story I told my son twenty years ago to make him feel better about being neurodivergent, and improving on it so that kids all over the world can continue to see themselves as heroes.”
Riordan finishes that with; “We took a year to do this process thoroughly and find the best of the best. This trio is the best. Leah Jeffries is Annabeth Chase,”. And Jeffries proves him right again and again with every new episode that comes out.
These actors, despite their youth, are able to portray their characters beautifully within the well-written story they’ve been given.
Disney has spared nothing in the show’s creation and anyone who watches it can most certainly tell. Every mythical character is brought to life with the team’s excellent mix of CGI and costuming.
Some fans are upset about the tweaks to the original storyline, but Riordan says that he’s only improving and bettering the story he wrote to reach as many children as he could.
“Watch the show or don’t. That’s your call. But this will be an adaptation that I am proud of,” Riordan said.
Overall, the show has been a beautiful and faithful adaptation of a favorite childhood book series. It certainly is refreshing after the trainwreck of the movies. I’d rate it five out of five stars and recommend it to anyone who has ever read the books, or even anyone who thinks the story sounds interesting.
