Happy birthday to Percy Jackson, and a very happy day to the Percy Jackson fandom! To celebrate the beloved fictional character’s birthday on Thursday, August 18, Disney+ shared the first photo of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians cast on set in Canada. The photo shows the main trio, Walker Scobell, Leah Sava Jeffries, and Aryan Simhadri as Percy, Annabeth, and Grover.
“It’s a very special day, demigods,” the tweet read. “Happy birthday, #PercyJackson! We’re celebrating with a gift just for you.” The photo shows Scobell, Jeffries, and Simhadri smiling from ear to ear, their arms around each other’s shoulders while standing in a forest. This appears to be the first glimpse of the actors in costume, and an exciting look at the filming location for Camp Half-Blood.
It’s a very special day, demigods ⚡️ Happy Birthday, #PercyJackson!
We’re celebrating with a gift just for you… #PercyPreview pic.twitter.com/FjFrXxSSKJ
— Percy Jackson (@PercySeries) August 18, 2022
Author Rick Riordan also wished his demigod brainchild a happy birthday on his blog, sharing the photo the trio of heroes and saying, “Every day, they are bringing the fire to their performances, working hard to make this show the best ever, but they also seem to be having the time of their lives, which is awesome to see! It’s a true privilege to watch them work every day.”
Percy Jackson and the Olympians is currently filming in Vancouver, and Riordan (who is executive producing the series and — unlike with the Percy Jackson movies — is heavily involved in story development) says they’re right on schedule.
In an August 13 blog update, Riordan said director James Bobin is nearly ready to assemble his director’s cut of the pilot. And they’ve gotten a large chunk of Season 1, based on Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (Book 1 in the series), filmed already.
“How much Percy content have we covered? Put it this way: If you were following along in the book, we have pretty much filmed through chapter nine in The Lightning Thief. That’s a big chunk of the story, but there is a massive amount of fun and games still to come!” Riordan wrote. “And yes, the filming has followed the book story very closely, almost as if the author were involved himself! Sure, there are small tweaks and changes here and there, which were mutually agreed upon, but the biggest difference is the ‘value added.’”
“You will get peeks at character backstory, foreshadowing Easter eggs of things to come, and nuances in Percy’s family history that I think you will love,” he continued. “The neat thing about revisiting this tale, almost 20 years after I first wrote it, is that I get to address some of the questions that fans have asked me over the years: ‘What does this mean?’ ‘Why does this happen the way it does?’ ‘What would happen if —?’ It’s been really satisfying and fun.”
The Percy Jackson and the Olympians cast also includes recurring guest stars Virginia Kull (Sally Jackson), Glynn Turman (Chiron a.k.a. Mr. Brunner), Jason Mantzoukas (Dionysus a.k.a. Mr. D), Timm Sharp (Gabe Ugliano), and Megan Mullally (Alecto a.k.a. Mrs. Dodds). Dior Goodjohn and Charlie Bushnell will recur as Clarisse La Rue and Luke Castellan, respectively, and Olivea Morton will guest star as Nancy Bobofit.
Riordan and Jon Steinberg wrote the pilot with Bobin directing. Steinberg oversees the series with his producing partner Dan Shotz. The series is executive produced by Steinberg, Shotz, Bobin, Riordan, Rebecca Riordan, Bert Salke, Monica Owusu-Breen, Jim Rowe, Anders Engström, Jet Wilkinson, and The Gotham Group’s Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Jeremy Bell, and D.J. Goldberg. An official release date has not been announced, but hopefully it won’t be long before the Disney+ series brings on the monsters.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians, TBD, Disney+
