New Percy Jackson Trailer Looks... Exactly Like the Movies the Fandom Hates So Much
Were we too quick to hype the upcoming Percy Jackson and the Olympians TV series up?
It's a great year to be a fan of the Rick Riordan universe, as the long-awaited proper adaptation of the Percy Jackson series will hit Disney Plus as soon as late December, and the new trailer is finally here to prove just how perfect the new project is compared to the notorious movies... right?
Well, a huge fan of Camp Half-Blood in us wants to agree. Still, we can't help but get the old Percy Jackson movies' vibes from the newly-released trailer.
The clip offers us a sneak-peek into the universe where demigods are real, and young Percy Jackson has to wrap his mind around the fact that he is the son of Poseidon, the Greek god of the seas. We see Percy in the museum, struggling with his dyslexia; we see him with his friend Grover who tries to save Percy and his mom from what's coming; finally, we even get to see Percy's first fights in Camp Half-Blood.
The problem? Pretty much everything looks exactly like what the movies have already shown us. Only the T-shirts are finally orange, just like in the book canon. Seriously, even the minotaur fight scene looks almost exactly like it looked in the movies.
The Percy Jackson movies covered first two books about the Son of Poseidon, The Lightning Thief and Sea of Monsters. The films were released in 2010 and 2013 respectively.
Naturally, it's important to remember that this is only the first teaser for Disney's new Percy Jackson endeavour, and to be fair, some parts of it did seem to include the storylines the movies ignored. For instance, fans have been excited to finally see The Tunnel of Love arc being adapted.
However, the first look at the rest of the epic locations Percy and his friends are set to explore look too familiar for our comfort. The Lotus Hotel and Casino and Hades' realm (or what appears to be looking like those places) almost feel like Chris Columbus is a director.
Still, fans seem to be head over heels in love with the first promotional materials that are being released. No matter the similarities with the movies (after all, not everyone necessarily despised them), the TV series looks like a faithful adaptation of Rick Riordan's iconic story.
We definitely have a cast that is more book-accurate and age-appropriate, even though some characters definitely have their appearance changed: for instance, Walker Scobell's Percy is blonde (he had dark hair in the books), and Annabeth (who is canonically white) is portrayed by African American actress Leah Jeffries.
Still, the move towards inclusivity is supported by the majority of the fans and the series author Rick Riordan, even though the upcoming TV show has already faced backlash over its diverse casting.
Despite that, Camp Half-Blood fans are eager to start the journey into the demigod universe no matter what. Percy Jackson and the Olympians hits Disney Plus with a two-episode premiere on December 20.