Disney+'s Percy Jackson Merchandise Could Be Coming Sooner Than Expected
Patience is a virtue when it comes to Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Since the critically-panned film adaptations of the early 2010s, fans have waited for a faithful live-action adaptation of Rick Riordan's best-selling novels. Chatter about a reboot was just about non-existent for years, until Disney acquired 20th Century Fox and all of its intellectual property. This meant that Riordan's world of Greek gods and half-bloods now resided in the house of mouse, and it didn't take long for the entertainment giant to make it feel welcomed. Just one year after Disney officially merged with Fox, Riordan announced that a Disney+ adaptation of his Percy Jackson books was in the works.
That patience has continued through the show's development process, as it didn't cast its titular star until this past January and production wouldn't kick off until June of this year, over two years after Riordan made the initial announcement. Regardless of how long it has taken to get to this point in time, Percy Jackson and the Olympians has seen a surge of momentum since the summer shoot kicked off.
That momentum reached a fever pitch at Disney's D23 Expo, which saw Riordan and lead stars Walker Scobell (The Adam Project), Leah Jeffries (Beast), and Aryan Simhadri (Cheaper by the Dozen) present the show's first teaser trailer. The 52 seconds of footage was limited in what it showcased, but a notable monologue and some orange tees were enough to get fans buzzing.
Those orange tees are the signature uniform of Camp Half-Blood demigods, and this is their first official appearance in live-action. While this show is listed on Disney+ as having a 2024 release, Riordan has teased that fans could be seeing merchandise much sooner than that.
"Another question is about the new generation design for the Camp Half-Blood shirts, which are absolute fire, thanks to our art department and costume designers," Riordan wrote in a recent blog post. "I imagine there will be many ways to score your own T-shirt, and Disney is working on that right now, so stay tuned."
As Riordan notes, these "new generation" Camp Half-Blood tees are slightly different from the ones seen in visual adaptations of his books, as they feature a circular Greek pattern around the central black pegasus. While it remains to be seen when or where these shirts will go on sale, Riordan's note that Disney is actively "working on that" likely means they will arrive well before that tentative 2024 release date.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians is currently in its fourth of eight scheduled production months.