With its recently released Disney+ series, the “Percy Jackson” franchise is entering a new era, introducing a fresh generation of fans to author Rick Riordan’s universe and providing longtime fans with a new adaptation to enjoy.
“I was a huge fan of the book series in elementary school and watched the movies a long time ago, so I was honestly looking forward to a more faithful adaptation,” said senior Anika Pant. “I love this version so much more and I think the actors did an amazing job.”
The “Percy Jackson” two-film series, widely viewed as unsuccessful by fans, had very little involvement from franchise creator Riordan. In the production of the Disney+ adaptation, he took the role of one of the executive producers, giving him more control.
“I was involved in every writers’ room, I read every draft of every script, we gave notes on everything. So we were very intimately involved with every episode,” said Riordan in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. “Writing for television is very different than just making up a novel alone […] With a TV show, you’re all pitching in. It’s a collaborative vision.”
With Riordan’s more direct involvement in the adaptation of the series, the show has had better reception than the movies, even if it is not a perfect replica of The Lightning Thief’s story.
“I think that it’s important to take into consideration that the show had to cater to both old fans of the books and a new generation interested in the series, so some of the artistic liberties and changes in the timeline were understandable, since first-time fans could be a bit lost otherwise,” said Pant. “However, this show did a way better job than most other book to live-action adaptations I’ve heard about.”
When an adaptation is created, fans often compare it to its original source material. Regarding the Disney+ series, many were frustrated at deviations “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” had to its written counterpart, which some don’t think is the best mindset.

“What’s the point of telling the exact same story as the book?” said senior Anabelle Volpe. “The books already exist, and television or any other medium gives the opportunity to expand and change aspects of the story. This is not to say people cannot critique the show or any similar adaptations, but I would argue one should critique it on its own merit and not by changes made to the original—because if you wanted the original book series, you should go read the original book series.”
Under the guise of worrying about accuracy to the books, some viewers have shown racism towards Leah Sava Jeffries, a Black girl, playing Annabeth, a character described as white in the books.
“I think faithfulness to the books is important to a certain extent. Personally, I think [the racism toward Jeffries] is so stupid, because the personality of Annabeth is much more important than the fact that this Annabeth doesn’t have blonde hair and isn’t white,” said junior Saron Tesfaye. “I didn’t have many characters that looked like me growing up, so I’m really happy that there is better representation for kids to look up to.”
Overall, viewers seemed to agree that though the show may not be perfect, it is still a mostly well-done adaptation of the “Percy Jackson” universe.