Disney+ - Percy Jackson: Rick Riordan's fantasy saga, becomes one of the next original series

By Mulder, 27 january 2022

International best-seller whose 5 volumes have been sold to more than 180 million copies, the Percy Jackson saga is now the subject of a series adaptation. Disney+ has just announced that it will be filmed next summer. The pilot episode will be written by its author Rick Riordan and Jon Steinberg (Black Sails), and directed by James Bobin (The Mysterious Benedict Circle). Jon Steinberg, Dan Shotz, James Bobin, Rick & Rebecca Riordan, Bert Salke, Monica Owusu-Breen, Jim Rowe & Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Jeremy Bell and D.J. Goldberg of Gotham Group will serve as executive producers of the 20th Television series, which is currently casting.

Shot on location, Percy Jackson will chronicle the adventures of a 12-year-old modern demigod, Percy Jackson, who has just accepted his new supernatural powers when the mighty Zeus accuses him of stealing his Lightning Bolt. Percy will have to search all over the United States for it in order to restore order to Olympus.

"Under the leadership of Rick Riordan, Jon Steinberg and Dan Shotz, we are creating a compelling series worthy of the mythological heroes that fascinate millions of Percy Jackson readers," said Ayo Davis, president of Disney Branded Television. "We look forward to bringing the many twists and turns of this best-selling saga, full of suspense, humor and surprises, to young Disney+ subscribers. The series we're working on will be a faithful adaptation of it."

"Many of us at 20th Television wanted to bring this masterful work to the screen and we are thrilled to have the expertise of Jon Steinberg, Dan Shotz, James Bobin and their talented collaborators," added Karey Burke, 20th Television President. "We can already announce that with this adaptation, the many fans of Rick Riordan's novels will find in this series all the mystery, action and mythology that made Percy Jackson a huge literary success."

Rick Riordan, a former teacher turned novelist, has published numerous bestsellers. He launched the teen mythological fiction collection "Rick Riordan Presents" in 2016, which aims to identify, support and promote diverse and often underrepresented authors.

Jon Steinberg is one of the creators, as well as the executive producer and artistic director of "The Old Man," a new series coming soon to Disney+, starring Jeff Bridges. In 2019, he and his partner producer Dan Shotz signed a deal with 20th Television to conceive, develop and oversee series for Disney. Previously, he co-created and produced all four seasons of the series "Black Sails." His other credits include the series "See" where he was executive producer and "Human Target: The Target" which he created and executive produced in partnership with DC Comics. His first series was "Jericho", starring Skeet Ulrich.

Director, writer and producer, James Bobin has directed and produced The Mysterious Benedict Circle for Disney+, the live-action feature film D'ora and the Lost City and Through the Looking Glass with Johnny Depp, Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter. For the small screen, he wrote and shot the series "Da Ali G Show" (where he co-created the characters of Ali G, Borat and Brüno) and "Flight of the Conchords".

(Source: press release)