Disney has unveiled a new teaser trailer for its upcoming reboot, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, revealing a premiere date of Wednesday, December 20. The first two episodes will drop on that day, with subsequent episodes becoming available weekly. This first season will consist of eight episodes in total.
The series is adapted from Rick Riordan’s book series and is a reboot of the short-lived 2010s film series of the same name. In it, 12-year-old Percy Jackson discovers that he is a modern demigod, the son of Poseidon, after Zeus accuses him of stealing his lightning bolt. This sets Percy on a journey to find and return the lightning bolt through a world where the ancient Greek myths are still very much alive.
The teaser provides very brief looks at a few key moments from the story, ending with a voice-over from the late Lance Reddick who plays Zeus.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians sees relative newcomer Walker Scobell taking the lead role previously played by Logan Lerman. His main companions on the quest are Annabeth Chase, played by Leah Sava Jeffries, and Grover Underwood, played by Aryan Simhadri. Among the other guest stars are Hamilton scribe and original star Lin-Manuel Miranda as Hermes and Vikings star Adam Copeland as Ares.
The first film version, Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief launched amidst the wave of YA-pitched fantasy and dystopian films that included Harry Potter and The Chronicles of Narnia. It performed well enough to warrant a sequel, though author Rick Riordan’s was openly critical of some of the significant changes made to the story, including aging Percy up to 16 years old and introducing plot devices that he saw as having no relevance to the remainder of the story.
We’ll be keeping our eyes on this new adaptation, so make sure to check back for more details.
