In between the release of a brand-new book and the upcoming Percy Jackson & The Olympians Disney+ adaptation, author Rick Riordan has been touring the country to discuss all things Percy Jackson. The first book in Riordan’s series, The Lightning Thief, was released in 2005 and spawned an empire of novels blending Greek mythology and the modern world. Jackson’s latest, Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Chalice of the Gods, was released in September 2023, over a decade since the last Percy Jackson and the Olympians novel hit shelves.
Riordan visited the Alex Theatre in Glendale, CA to shed light on his new book and the upcoming series, and Screen Rant was there to hear what he had to say. Riordan was in conversation with fellow author Stacey Lee, whose book Winston Chu vs. the Whimsies was published by Rick Riordan Presents. Riordan shared valuable information about what’s next for Percy Jackson, screened the Percy Jackson & The Olympians trailer, and revealed why he has revisited the beloved character after all this time.
Here are 5 things Screen Rant learned during Riordan’s talk with fellow author Stacey Lee at the Alex Theatre in Glendale, CA.
Disney’s Purchase Of Fox Inspired Rick Riordan To Consider A TV Adaptation
Rick Riordan began his discussion by acknowledging the largely disliked Percy Jackson movies. Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief was released in 2010 to less-than-favorable reviews by critics and fans alike. It’s no secret that that experience was a burden on Riordan, but the author revealed the moment that encouraged him to try again:
Rick Riordan: A few years ago in 2019–in the before times– we heard that Fox was being bought by the Disney Corporation. We thought there might be an opportunity here to kind of shake something loose, get the rights for an adaptation over to the Disney side of things, and maybe make an adaptation that we can all feel really, really good about. No shade there on any previous efforts. (Riordan then mouthed, “Maybe a little shade.”)
2. Rick Riordan Developed 3 New Percy Jackson Books To Entice Disney To Make The Series (But Didn’t Need To)
Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Chalice of the Gods is the first book told from Percy Jackson’s point of view in 14 years. Time will tell where it places in the ranking of Percy Jackson books, but the fact that it exists at all is a testament to how much Riordan wanted a television adaptation of his series. Riordan discussed his plan to get Disney on his side to make a television series:
Rick Riordan: I said, “Look, guys, if you let us make a TV show, I would be willing to do something I haven’t done in like 14 years, and that is write a new book from Percy’s point of view. Then you would have a win-win; you’d have new books, you’d have a TV show, [and] one thing would help the other thing. Great idea, it sounded like.
I even sat down and sketched out some ideas. I sketched out three different book ideas, featuring Percy, Annabeth, and Grover. Then I showed it to my editor. She said, “This is great. We could do this.” Turns out, I didn’t even need to do it. They were totally fine making the TV show on its own without that.
3. Rick Riordan Was Involved In Every Aspect Of The Show
Rick Riordan was involved as a consultant on the Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief movie, but allegedly refused to be involved with the sequel. Considering everything that went wrong with the Percy Jackson movies, it makes sense that Riordan would want to be more involved this time around. Thankfully, that seems to be the case:
Rick Riordan: People ask me, like, “Well, did you have total control over everything?” It’s impossible. There are, like, five hundred people, and they’re all doing their thing, and it’s a total team sport. But I will say this: I was involved in every single part of this. The casting? Absolutely. I was in every single writers’ room. We were on set pretty much constantly from last June through February. It was a long and amazing process for me to learn all this.
4. Rick Riordan Calls The Show “The Lightning Thief, The Way I Want It Done”
After praising the Percy Jackson & The Olympians cast, Riordan went on to pump up the series. Once the show’s trailer played, Riordan teased that it was only a small taste of what’s to come for the show. He then went on to reveal his thoughts on the season as a whole:
Rick Riordan: I can promise you this. I have seen the full season. It is The Lightning Thief, the way I want it done.
5. Rick Riordan Wants The Mythology Of More Cultures To Be Explored (But Not By Him)
After hyping up Percy Jackson & The Olympians, Riordan closed out his appearance at the Alex Theatre by discussing his publishing imprint, Rick Riordan Presents. Riordan shared images and information about recent and upcoming books on the imprint, including more Winston Chu books by the evening’s co-host, Stacey Lee. Riordan revealed why Rick Riordan Presents was so important to him:
Rick Riordan: The reason that I started this is because a lot of my readers are really smart, and they’re like “Okay, Rick, let’s see. You’ve done Greek. You’ve done Norse. You’ve done Egyptian mythology. What about Chinese mythology? What about the West African mythologies, or Aztec mythology?” There are so many great myths in the world, and I just didn’t feel like I’m an expert at those things.
I didn’t grow up with those mythologies the way that I did with the ones I write about, so I started talking to my editor and saying, “Surely there are wonderful authors out there who would like to write great middle-grade fantasies based on the mythologies that they know and that they grew up with.” Rather than me trying to do it, let’s turn the spotlight on them, and let them tell their stories.
Percy Jackson & The Olympians premieres December 20th on Disney+.
