2023-12-20 13:00:00
Fans of the demigod have been waiting for it for months, even years. Disney+ (finally) unveiled, this Wednesday, December 20, 2023, its Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. While some of the most impatient have already rushed to discover the first episodes, they must have spotted some differences between this new original creation and the first film… SFR Actus reveals the major changes to you.
In 2005, the world discovered The Lightning Thief, the first novel in the future successful Percy Jackson saga by Rick Riordan. Five years later, the adventures of Poseidon’s son (played by Logan Lerman) were reinvented in the form of a first film by Chris Columbus, followed by a second opus released in 2013 by director Thor Freudenthal. While fans were impatiently awaiting a sequel to this film saga, it is finally in the form of a new Disney+ original series that Percy Jackson and the gods of Greek mythology are once again revealed.
You will notice when discovering Percy Jackson and the Olympians that this new adaptation, carried by a new casting, differs – on a few points – from the cinematographic works. Differences which, however, turn out to be very positive… At the SFR Actus editorial team, in any case, we are already seduced by this new version of Percy Jackson! This brand new Disney+ series aims to be more faithful to the original work. During a press conference organized a few days before its broadcast, the three main actors admitted to being very big fans of Rick Riordan’s work and to having read the books multiple times themselves. In other words, they master their subject.
Indeed, the films are ultimately a very condensed adaptation of the original story, leaving little room for details. This new format of the adventures of Percy Jackson, Grover and Annabeth allows you to learn more about the characters, to discover more of their environment and to go further in the course of events. Concretely, the first episode of the series, lasting approximately 35 minutes, transcribes the first 20 minutes of Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief. This additional time therefore leaves room for new scenes and thus gives rise to glaring differences with the first film.
The altercation between Zeus and Poseidon
This is THE first scene of the film Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief, and incidentally the one which gives us all the context of the story. It is about the altercation between Zeus and Poseidon, when the two brothers meet and the first accuses the son of the second (who is none other than Percy Jackson) of having stolen his lightning bolt. Poseidon warns Zeus, and threatens to give him the fight of his life if the latter decides to attack his son. For his part, Zeus explains to Poseidon that he has 14 days to return the lightning or risk starting a real war.
The Percy Jackson and the Olympians series begins with a monologue from Percy explaining the dangers of being a half-blood, without ever addressing the theft of Zeus’ lightning bolt, which will only be mentioned later in the series. .
The appearance of Percy’s powers
In Percy Jackson and the Olympians, our hero’s powers manifest themselves from a very young age. When he was in CE1, the boy was already able to see mystical creatures such as minotaurs or even a winged horse, like Pegasus in Greek mythology. Visions that were justified by the powerful imagination of the young man. However, Percy’s powers become undeniable when he pushes, from a distance and without really meaning to, his classmate Nancy into a fountain.
If in the series, Percy Jackson has extraordinary abilities from the start, in the film, he must little by little discover them and learn to master them. We will nevertheless note a similarity between the two works: the hero’s dyslexia, which is in reality a manifestation of his brain’s preference for ancient Greek. On the other hand, let us also point out that the series emphasizes the school harassment suffered by Percy, whereas this is not the case in Chris Columbus’ film.
The age of the characters
We expected it, given the casting, but it still turned out to be a surprise: the age of the characters. In the films, Percy Jackson and Grover are high school students, in other words 17-year-old adolescents who are therefore capable of having greater perspective on certain events and greater maturity.
In the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, the hero is only 12 years old. So it’s about a child who has just learned that he is the son of a god, thus making him a demigod. At the start of the first episode, it is also assumed that Grover is 12 years old, however during the chase scene with the minotaur, Percy’s satyr and protector reveals that he is actually 24 years old. The protagonist’s best friend is therefore twice his age. And another little peculiarity about Grover: in the series, he already has small horns whereas in the film, he is only given them at the end.
Percy’s stepfather
There is another character in which we see a notable difference: the new companion of Percy Jackson’s mother. In the film, Gabe comes across as a horrible, misogynistic, alcoholic and disrespectful man. We also learn throughout the story that Percy’s mother had chosen Gabe precisely because his “stench” and his bad faith made it possible to cover the purity of Percy’s blood. In the original Disney+ series, however, this character gives a much less unpleasant impression than in Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief. Here, Gabe is still unemployed, and a bit unpleasant, but he has put aside his macho personality and is much less violent, even a little stupid.
The chalet scene
As we explained to you previously, this new format allows you to discover more about the characters by taking a little more time to focus on certain details and include new scenes. This is particularly the case of the chalet sequence, which is not present in the first cinematographic opus. In Percy Jackson and the Olympians, this new scene allows Sally and her son to have a heart-to-heart discussion about Percy’s abilities, but also about the meeting between his mother and Poseidon, without ever mentioning him openly. Sally Jackson also takes the opportunity to explain to him why being a demigod, and therefore a half-blood being, makes him a target for evil forces. If we are looking to find the equivalent of this sequence in the film, it would certainly be the one in the car, when the minotaur is chasing Grover, Percy and his mother. The fact remains that this scene is also present in the series, leaving room for explanations from Grover as to his role as protector as well as the camp to which they are going.
The identity of Percy’s father
In Chris Columbus’ film, upon his arrival at the camp, Percy discovers that he is the son of Poseidon, god of the sea and oceans. This then made it possible to understand why, from a very young age, Percy was comfortable with water. In the series, when he arrives at the camp, Percy meets Dionysus, who will make him believe for a few minutes that he is his father… A way to abuse the young demigod’s trust. However, Mr. Brunner arrives and explains to Percy that, as of yet, no god has recognized him as his son, and that his father could manifest in the next few days, if ever. Percy Jackson will therefore take more time to discover himself, understand his roots as well as uncover his powers.
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That’s all we’ll tell you for the moment, so as not to spoil anything, since currently only the first two episodes of the series are available on Disney+. Can’t wait to discover the rest of the adventures of Percy, Grover and Annabeth? The next six episodes of Percy Jackson and the Olympians will air weekly. And between two viewing sessions, you can always (re)discover the Percy Jackson films, also available on the big-eared platform.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians
- Realization : James Bobin (the first 2 episodes).
- Adaptation : the series is an adaptation of Rick Riordan’s literary saga.
- Release date : December 20, 2023.
- Platform : Disney+.
- Casting : Walker Scobell, Aryan Simhadri, Leah Sava Jeffries, Toby Stephens, Glynn Turman, Feu Lance Reddick…
Source : Disney+
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