Rick Riordan Teases Awesome Things Coming From Iconic Lightning Thief Shooting Location

The "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" film franchise is primarily known as an example of great books that were turned into awful movies. When making the 2010 flick "Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lighting Thief," filmmakers made tweaks to key plot elements that fundamentally changed the nature of author Rick Riordan's story. For example, the main characters were aged-up significantly, negating the coming-of-age story at the heart of the beloved book series. However, a brand-new Percy Jackson TV series is in development at Disney+, and it's seemingly shaping up to be an adaptation that honors the integrity of the source material.

According to Variety, "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" will star Walker Scobell as the titular character, while Aryan Simhadri has been tapped to play Grover Underwood and Leah Sava Jeffries will portray Annabeth Chase. The same source reports that production, which is filming in Vancouver, will also feature Megan Mullally as Mrs. Dodds/Alecto, Jason Mantzoukas as Dionysus, and Virginia Kull as Percy's mother, Sally. 

Thankfully, the earliest whispers from set seem to indicate that production on the first season is going smoothly. In fact, Rick Riordan has revealed that an iconic plot line from "The Lightning Thief" is well underway.

Fans of the book series will be relieved to hear that Rick Riordan will have much more involvement with the upcoming Percy Jackson Disney+ series than he did with the movies. The author had no problem voicing his mind about the original film's script, which he deemed "terrible" in an email to producers (via IndieWire). However, the minds behind the series are welcoming Riordan's input this time around. As reported by DiscussingFilm, Riordan even co-wrote the pilot episode. The author has also been keeping fans up to date on the show's progression on his blog, where he revealed that the cast and crew are hard at work making the Lotus Hotel and Casino come to life. 

"Wait until you see the Lotus," Riordan told fans in an October 2022 post. "... You will know this part of the adventure well if you've read the books, but you will also find lots of fun details, new scenes and Easter eggs that make the experience even better." The 2010 film adaptation diverged quite a bit from the plot of the book, as previously mentioned, and the Lotus storyline was no exception. In the books, Percy, Grover, and Annabeth are enchanted by the magic of the Lotus Hotel and Casino, which traps its victims with the lure of endless games. In the 2010 film, Lotus-shaped cookies keep the kids intoxicated by their lush environment. 

Hopefully, Riordan's excitement indicates that the latest "Percy Jackson" adaptation will fare much better than the first.