Disney+ and Hulu’s TV adaptation of Percy Jackson and the Olympians has so far done justice to Rick Riordan’s young adult book series of the same name. Co-created and executive produced by Riordan himself, the TV series has been largely true to its source material, successfully realizing Percy, Camp Half-Blood, and Riordan’s unique interpretation of Greek mythology.
The strength of the TV show is especially evident when held up against Hollywood’s first attempt to put the Percy Jackson saga on screen. In 2010, 20th Century Fox released Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, the first in what was meant to be a series of movies starring Logan Lerman as the big screen’s Percy.
Despite the massive popularity of Riordan’s novels, a few critical faults prevented Lerman’s Percy Jackson movies from becoming staples akin to the feature adaptations of Harry Potter or The Hunger Games. For starters, Riordan was not creatively involved in the movies, which were criticized for being unfaithful to their source material.
Arguably equally important was the fact that Lerman, while a strong actor, was 18 at the time of The Lightning Thief’s release. This made him noticeably older than Percy was meant to be at this time, alienating the young audience who related to the character. This problem would only be exacerbated with time, as he would have soon been a full-fledged adult playing a teenager.
Given the adoration of Riordan’s original series, and the disappointment of the first attempt to adapt them for the screen, fans were holding their breath for the Percy Jackson TV series to be a success. Though its first two seasons were well-received, Percy Jackson and the Olympians season 3 will finally be truly out of its predecessor’s shadow.
Percy Jackson & The Olympians Season 3 Will Tell A Story Never Before Seen On-Screen
The faults of Lerman’s Percy Jackson adaptation became even more apparent with the second installment, Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters. Having premiered three years after The Lightning Thief, Lerman was now 21 years old, playing a character who, in the books, was 13 years old. Narrative departures from the books became even clearer, and Riordan himself was vocal about his displeasure.
The movie’s performance reflected its flaws, and a third movie was never made. With its first two seasons, the Hulu and Disney+ Percy Jackson series similarly covered The Lightning Thief and The Sea of Monsters, the first two books in Riordan’s series. Season 3 will officially surpass Lerman’s movies as the TV show will tackle The Titan’s Curse, a novel that has not yet been adapted for the screen.
Though the comparison has reflected well on the TV series, season 3 will finally allow Walker Scobell’s Percy Jackson to stand on his own without needing to surpass any preconceived expectations from previous adaptations.
This is particularly exciting as the saga’s big picture really begins to come into focus with The Titan’s Curse. Major key characters, like Bianca and Nico di Angelo, will be introduced, and the TV series gets to be the first to put a face to the names. With season 3, the TV series will officially outlive its feature-length predecessors, cementing it as the prominent Percy Jackson adaptation.
Logan Lerman’s Percy Jackson Movies Have Largely Been Forgotten
Though enthusiastic Percy Jackson fans remember being let down by the first attempt at an adaptation, Logan Lerman’s movies haven’t gone down in infamy or left a lasting impression on either the Percy Jackson franchise or the rest of Logan Lerman’s career. On all fronts, this is for the best.
The failed movies didn’t leave such a scar on the franchise that creators shied away from trying again or that viewers shied away from watching. In fact, the unremarkable and incomplete movie series may have paved the way for the TV show as viewers craved a quality adaptation of the beloved book series, and one that saw itself all the way through to the finish line.
Similarly, the movies thankfully didn’t have a lasting negative impact on Logan Lerman’s career. In between the two Percy Jackson movies, Lerman starred in The Perks of Being a Wallflower, arguably his most acclaimed role that is still talked about today. Most recently, Lerman starred opposite rising star Molly Gordon in Oh, Hi! proving that the actor is still largely viewed as an unproblematic heartthrob.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians season 3 will, at long last, put the two movies squarely in the rearview, allowing both Logan Lerman’s career and Walker Scobell’s Percy Jackson to evolve at their own pace, unburdened by past mistakes.
- Release Date
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December 19, 2023
- Network
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Disney+
- Showrunner
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Jonathan E. Steinberg, Dan Shotz
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Walker Scobell
Percy Jackson
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Leah Sava Jeffries
Annabeth Chase
This story originally appeared on Screenrant
