Hello everyone, and I’m back with a new story that I don’t think that many people are aware of regarding the movie rights of another popular children’s book series: Percy Jackson and the Olympians.
But before I begin, in case you may not know what I’m talking about, Percy Jackson and the Olympians surrounds the adventures of its titular hero, who one day learns that he is a demigod, a child of a god and a mortal, specifically a son of Poseidon, the Greek god of the sea. This gives Percy the ability to manipulate water among other abilities, and after a series of events, he ends up at a camp for other demigods named Camp Half-Blood, where he learns how to use his abilities while going on a quest to stop the rise of the Titan lord Kronos.
Sounds awesome, doesn’t it? And author Rick Riordan didn’t stop there, eventually expanding Percy Jackson and the Olympians into an entire universe of world mythology called the Camp Half-Blood Chronicles. In fact, I think its safe to assume that Riordan has now become the one guy that comes to mind when the words “children’s books” and “mythology” run through your head. First came a separate series on Egyptian mythology named The Kane Chronicles, then a sequel series focusing on Roman mythology named The Heroes of Olympus. Riordan recently finished a Norse version in Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, and is currently writing a sequel series to The Heroes of Olympus in The Trials of Apollo. Accompanying these books is a series of companion graphic novels among other spin-off books, so it’s safe to assume that children’s literature’s preeminent depiction of mythology isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
At least, that is the case for print. Obviously when it was time for Percy Jackson and the Olympians to get the movie treatment the series had tons of potential on film. Sadly, Rick Riordan made two major mistakes.
Continue reading “The Story of How Disney Saved Percy Jackson”
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