Percy Jackson author on how Disney+ show undoes ‘fundamental mistakes’ of Logan Lerman film

Percy Jackson author Rick Riordan has shared how the forthcoming Disney+ adaptation of his young-adult franchise will undo the “fundamental mistakes” with the 2010 film adaptation.

First published in 2005, Riordan’s books about a teenage demigod living on Earth amassed a huge following in the Noughties.

A film, Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, starring Logan Lerman in the titular role, soon followed. But it was criticised by critics and fans for failing to live up to the books. A second film followed in 2013, but the franchise was eventually scrapped.

Now, the books have been given an on-screen do-over in the form of Percy Jackson and the Olympians, an eight-part fantasy series arriving on Disney+ in December.

In a new interview with Variety, Riordan – who has previously described the original film as watching his “life’s work going through a meat grinder” – spoke about working on the new show as an executive producer.

One of the “fundamanental mistakes” of the film, Riordan told Variety, was in the ageing up of the characters to older teenagers. Lerman was 17 when he played the role, while his character’s friends were played by Alexandra Daddario and Brandon T Jackson, who were 23 and 25, respectively.

“Now, having been through the production process, I totally get why they did that. It’s much easier to work with older actors,” Riordan said.

“[But] once you have older teens, it’s a completely different dynamic. You lose so much of the wonder. The magic of being a middle grader doesn’t come across the same way. There’s a jaded teenage quality.”

The central trio in the new series will be played by Walker Scobell, 14, Leah Sava Jeffries, 14, and Aryan Simhadri, 14.

When the casting for Disney+ series was announced in May 2022, Riordan was quick to condemn racist backlash over the casting of Jeffries, who is Black, as Percy’s friend Annabeth.

“If you have a problem with this casting, take it up with me,” the author wrote on his blog. “You have no one else to blame. Whatever else you take from this post, we should be able to agree that bullying and harassing a child online is inexcusably wrong.”

Riordan stated that he was “quite clear” when casting was first announced that the production would follow Disney’s commitment to “diverse, inclusive casting” in its projects.

“You are judging her appropriateness for this role solely and exclusively on how she looks,” he wrote. “She is a Black girl playing someone who was described in the books as white. Friends, that is racism.”

Percy Jackson and the Olympians begins on Disney+ on 20 December.