‘Percy Jackson’ TV show coming to Disney Plus

Percy Jackson and the Olympians Logan Lerman
Logan Lerman in 2010's 'Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief' (Image credit: 20th Century Fox)

A demigod is coming to Disney Plus, as a new original TV series based on the Percy Jackson and the Olympians book series by Rick Riordan has been announced. Disney Plus described Percy Jackson and the Olympians as an “epic adventure series” aimed in particular at tweens, teens and young adults.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians will be a live-action series detailing the fantastical story of a 12-year-old modern demigod, Percy Jackson. As he just begins to come to terms with his newfound supernatural powers, 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.

This will be the second time that Riordan’s hero Percy Jackson is taken from the page to the screen. In 2010, Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief was made into a movie starring Logan Lerman, Alexandra Daddario, Brandon T. Jackson, Pierce Brosnan, Kevin McKidd, Rosario Dawson, Sean Bean and Catherine Keener. It was followed up with the 2013 sequel, Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters.

Disney Plus will attempt to retell the story in the form of an original series, with Rick Riordan on board to write the pilot with Jon Steinberg (Black Sails), while Steinberg’s producing partner Dan Shotz is also on board to oversee the series. James Bobin (The Mysterious Benedict Society) tapped to direct. No stars have been attached to the project as casting is currently underway.

“With Rick Riordan, Jon Steinberg and Dan Shotz leading our creative team, we're deep into creating a compelling TV series worthy of the heroic mythological characters that millions of Percy Jackson readers know are well-worth caring about, and we're eager to invite Disney Plus audiences into stories that are true to the blockbuster franchise and full of anticipation, humor, surprise, and mystery,” said Ayo Davis, president of Disney Branded Television. 

And here is a special message from Riordan himself on the news:

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Percy Jackson and the Olympians will join a Disney Plus TV lineup that includes original Star Wars series The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett and upcoming series on Obi-Wan Kenobi and Ashoka; Marvel original series like Loki and the upcoming Moon Knight; and others like High School Musical: The Musical, Doogie Kamealoha, M.D. and more.

To stream Percy Jackson and the Olympians, or any of the other mentioned Disney Plus series, you need a subscription. Disney Plus costs $7.99 per month ($79.99 for a full year commitment) as a standalone option, $13.99 as part of the Disney Bundle with ESPN Plus and Hulu or is now included as a standard feature for Hulu with Live TV, starting at $69.99 per month.

The previous Percy Jackson movies are also available for streaming, with Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief available on Disney Plus and Prime Video, while Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters is available on HBO Max.

Michael Balderston

Michael Balderston is a DC-based entertainment and assistant managing editor for What to Watch, who has previously written about the TV and movies with TV Technology, Awards Circuit and regional publications. Spending most of his time watching new movies at the theater or classics on TCM, some of Michael's favorite movies include Casablanca, Moulin Rouge!, Silence of the Lambs, Children of Men, One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest and Star Wars. On the TV side he enjoys Only Murders in the Building, Yellowstone, The Boys, Game of Thrones and is always up for a Seinfeld rerun. Follow on Letterboxd.