In his most recent blog post, acclaimed author Rick Riordan has revealed some new updates about the current development of Disney+’s long-awaited series adaptation of the hit Percy Jackson novels.
Even though the project hasn’t received a full green light yet, he confirmed that they’ve already found the right director to helm the first episode of the live-action series. Dora and the Lost City of Gold director James Bobin has officially been enlisted to direct the pilot. This marks his latest collaboration with Disney after previously working together on The Muppets, Alice Through the Looking Glass, and most recently on an episode of The Mysterious Benedict Society.
“Our pilot director will be James Bobin, who is both a terrific person and an incredibly talented director who checks all the boxes we were hoping for in a partner,” Riordan said. “James knows the Percy books well. His kids are fans. His humor is wonderful. We are in good hands, demigods, and lucky to have him joining our team. Keep your fingers crossed that everything goes the way we expect!”
He also went on to share that should everything go as planned, filming might potentially start in June in Vancouver. Riordan also confirmed that casting is still ongoing and that they’re currently “working with visual effects artists to find the right ‘creature work’ look for the show, and hiring more members of our core ‘behind-the-scenes’ production team.”
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The Percy Jackson novel franchise began in 2005 with The Lightning Thief, which proved to be a smash hit and spawned four sequels, The Sea of Monsters, The Titan’s Curse, The Battle of the Labyrinth, and The Last Olympian, with five supplement books and graphic novel versions of each being released shortly after.
Click here to purchase the novel series.
The first novel was adapted for the big screen in 2010 with Chris Columbus (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone) helming and Logan Lerman (Hunters) starring in the titular role. Though receiving generally mixed reviews from critics and audiences alike, with criticism aimed at the film’s unfaithfulness to its source material, it was a box office hit, grossing over $226 million on its $95 million budget, which led 20th Century Fox to order a sequel.
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This came in 2013 with the adaptation of The Sea of Monsters, featuring the return of Lerman along with co-stars Alexandra Daddario (We Summon the Darkness) and Brandon T. Jackson (Tropic Thunder). Much like its predecessor, it received more mixed reviews from critics and audiences, with more criticism aimed at its unfaithfulness and melding of stories from the second and fifth novels, and was a box office hit, grossing $200 million on its $90 million budget. A third film in the series based on The Titan’s Curse was in development, but after languishing in development hell it appears to have been shut down.
