Best-selling book series comes to Disney+ with new adventures in 'Percy Jackson and the Olympians'

ByGeorge Pennacchio OTRC logo
Wednesday, December 20, 2023
'Percy Jackson and the Olympians' comes to Disney+
Percy Jackson started out as the main character in a best-selling series of books for young adults. He later made his way to the big screen. Now, Percy Jackson is hitting the world of streaming in a new series for Disney+ called "Percy Jackson and the Olympians."

Percy Jackson started out as the main character in a best-selling series of books for young adults. He later made his way to the big screen. Now, Percy Jackson is hitting the world of streaming in a new series for Disney+ called "Percy Jackson and the Olympians."

Percy Jackson is the son of Poseidon, the Greek God of the Sea. In "Percy Jackson and the Olympians," this teenager will take on a big task - even if he may not be up to it at first. Walker Scobell plays the title role.

"I don't think it's very hard to like him. I don't think I've tried too much because he's just written as a likeable character," said Scobell.

The star then joked: "Pretty handsome guy, too."

His co-star, Aryan Simhadri, teased: "Um, maybe in the books!"

Dan Shotz is the executive producer.

"Walker is incredible. It was, you know, we did a worldwide search. But when we all saw that tape for the first time, we said, 'that's the kid,'" Shotz said.

Two other "kids" join Percy on a special quest to prevent something dangerous from happening - sometimes working in the world of special effects.

"It was definitely super cool doing that challenging part of, like, imagining that something was there," said Leah Jeffries.

"When you look at it at a first glance, it looks like a kid show," said Simhadri. "But it's for everyone. It has truths that are, you know, kind of universal because it's based on Greek mythology, which, you know, holds these universal truths."

"This is a show that will work for kids. This is a show that will capture a kid's attention. This is not a show for kids. This is a show for everyone," said co-creator and executive producer Jonathan E. Steinberg. "And I think that requires being able to speak a number of different languages at the same time. And there are jokes that you won't get if you're 9. And you might need to have lived a little bit to get them. But they don't get in the way of the experience of the adventure you're having."

"Percy Jackson and the Olympians" begins streaming on Disney+ on Wednesday, Dec. 20.

The Walt Disney Company is the parent company of Disney+ and this ABC station.