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It may be baby steps, but there seems to be forward progress regarding Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Series author Rick Riordan tweeted a picture of himself on Thursday, December 12 at Disney HQ with a comically misnamed ID tag and a Disney+ button.
Had some good meetings at Disney today. Way too early to know what if anything might happen, but I will keep at it! At least they knew me by name at the security gates! (zoom in on my nametag to see what I mean ?) pic.twitter.com/BeIKS0rDhJ
— Rick Riordan (@camphalfblood) December 13, 2019
This news comes after the Percy Jackson fanbase got #DisneyAdaptPercyJackson trending without much promotion from Riordan himself. Chalk it up as one of those rare moments when content fan and creator are naturally on the same frequency.
Related: “Percy Jackson” author Rick Riordan wants Disney to reboot his series
But here’s what we know for sure:
- Talks are actually happening with Disney+. Be it a movie, TV series, five-part mini-series, or something else, talks about something for Percy Jackson and the Olympians are happening with Disney.
- Two of the five movies were already made by 20th Century Fox. Both movies bombed–the popular reason for why the other three weren’t made–but it means Disney already has the power to continue or reboot the series.
- The five-book series was published by Disney-Hyperion, and the series is celebrating a 10-year run on the New York Times Bestseller list.
— Rick Riordan (@camphalfblood) December 12, 2019
The first book of the series, The Lightning Thief was also converted into a successful Broadway musical.
A Series for a Generation
A young adult book series does not last 10 years on the Bestseller list without having an ever-lasting generation-wide effect on its readers. While there is a growing distaste for Disney rebooting old franchises, Percy Jackson never got to truly live off the page and give its generation of readers what they want. Besides, Disney+ needs quality original content.
One Percy Jackson fan, who wishes to remain anonymous, said:
“I would love Disney to reboot Percy Jackson because the story was so unique and amazing. It really captivated my generation as kids and I remember waiting for each book to come out excited to see where the journey would go. It’s honestly up there with Harry Potter in my opinion and it’s such a shame that the movies strayed so far from the books and fell into those Hollywood tropes when it had potential to be great!”
While there is no doubt that Percy Jackson could stand toe to toe with epic franchises like Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, or Twilight–if given a solid budget and quality direction–all fans can do right now is sit, wait, and hope for some Disney Magic.