Credit: LucasfilmDisney+ is plotting out the future of its streaming content, and it seems that the Mouse is doubling down on a replacement for the ailing Mandalorian: Percy Jackson and the Olympians.
The Mandalorian launched in 2019 as one of the first original Disney+ series (alongside shows like High School Musical: The Musical: The Series and The World According to Jeff Goldblum), as well as the first live-action Star Wars series ever. It quickly built enough viewership and critical acclaim to allow Lucasfilm to spin off multiple shows and cemented Pedro Pascal as one of the biggest stars on television. It also gave us Grogu, which is nice.
Related: ‘The Mandalorian’ May Rewrite Yoda’s ‘Star Wars’ History
In more recent years, The Mandalorian has been losing steam. Fans have begun to turn against the increasingly digressive plotlines, many of which seem designed to shoehorn in Dave Filoni characters like Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff) and Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson), and a fifth season seems like it will be replaced by a feature film instead.
But at the same time as Disney+ audiences are cooling on The Mandalorian, they have latched onto Percy Jackson and the Olympians, the new adaptation of the mega-popular Rick Riordan YA fantasy series. Percy Jackson season 1, which stars Walker Scobell, Leah Sava Jeffries, and Aryan Simhadri, quickly became one of the most-watched shows on any platform for weeks on end. It has also been universally critically acclaimed, currently holding 92% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Unsurprisingly, Disney+ has already renewed Percy Jackson and the Olympians for a second season (per The Hollywood Reporter), which was announced during the same quarterly earnings call in which the company announced sequels to Moana, Toy Story, and a whole slew of other properties.
Notably, Disney CEO Bob Iger also revealed on the call that the company would be pulling back on Marvel Studios content, tacitly admitting that it had been overproducing increasingly subpar shows and series (the occasional Loki season 2 notwithstanding). While Iger did not say the plan was to do the same for Star Wars, it would not be surprising if Disney was also looking to replace the increasingly poorly regarded Lucasfilm shows with a proven winner like Percy Jackson.
Related: One ‘Percy Jackson’ Change Will Have a Huge Impact on Future Seasons of the Show
Percy Jackson season 2 will be based on the second book in the Rick Riordan series, The Sea of Monsters, which, like The Lightning Thief, had previously been adapted into film in the early 2010s. Disney Branded Television president Ayo Davis said of season 2, “Rich in magic, wonder, adventure and heart, Percy Jackson and the Olympians captivated the imaginations of viewers of all ages everywhere. We’re thrilled to embark on an exciting new quest and a season two with Rick Riordan, our fantastic partners at 20th Television, and the exceptional ensemble of cast and creative talent that bring this story to life.”
At least for now, it seems clear that Disney+ has a new golden boy to replace The Mandalorian, and its name is Percy Jackson.
Do you think The Mandalorian is pretty much done as a series at this point? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!