Five Easter Eggs Disney+’s Percy Jackson Should Include

Percy Jackson and the Olympians is making impressive progress. The live-action serialized adaptation of Rick Riordan’s best-selling novels is currently in its third month of production, and has already “pretty much filmed through chapter nine” of Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, the book that Season 1 is based on. Much of this rapid progress can be attested to the show’s utilization of Industrial Light & Magic’s StageCraft, a massive virtual production visual effects screen that expedites the VFX process. 

It also helps that Riordan, who was infamously left out of 20th Century Fox’s 2010 film adaptation of The Lightning Thief, is completely hands on in this reboot. Both Rick and wife Becky serve an executive producers on Percy Jackson, and Rick himself is credited as a series writer. While this show will be heavily based on the 375-page novel, it will not be a beat-by-beat adaptation. 

Becky revealed earlier this month that they would be filming a “non-book scene” which “improves story logic,” and based on recent updates from Rick, it will be just the first of a few.

“Yes, the filming has followed the book story very closely, almost as if the author were involved himself!” Rick wrote. “Sure, there are small tweaks and changes here and there, which were mutually agreed upon, but the biggest difference is the ‘value added.’”

Rick continued by teasing there are plenty of allusions to the greater Percy Jackson universe scattered throughout this first season.

“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,” Rick added. “The neat thing about revisiting this tale, almost twenty 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.”

Considering The Lightning Thief is the first of 15 total installments (not including tie-in books) within the young adult Greek mythology novel franchise, Rick and company have plenty of nuggets to sneak into these first eight episodes. To celebrate Percy Jackson’s birthday, here are five that fans should be on the lookout for in Percy Jackson and the Olympians!

Nico and Bianca

While they don’t come into the fold until The Titan’s Curse, Nico and Bianca di Angelo have been lurking in the shadows of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians world for nearly a century. That’s because these two children of Hades spend the majority of the 20th century inside the Lotus Hotel and Casino, where their father hides them. Time passes differently in the Lotus Casino, as what feels like a month amounts to nearly 70 years. Coincidentally enough, Percy and the crew venture to the Lotus Casino in The Lightning Thief at the same time that their fellow demigods are there, but the two groups don’t cross paths.

It’s unlikely that Percy Jackson will cast either of Hades’ kids this early, but it’s possible that some body doubles will be used in the show’s inevitable Lotus Casino episode. As Percy, Annabeth, and Grover are exploring the Lotus-eaters’ deceptive club, look out for a couple dark-haired, 1930s-dressed hidden faces in the background. That, or have Nico’s name at the top of a MythoMagic slot machine’s high scoring leaderboard.

Purple Shirts

The quest that Percy embarks on throughout The Lightning Thief takes him cross country. He begins at Camp Half-Blood in New York, and eventually ends up in the Underworld, which he enters through a recording studio in Los Angeles, California.

Fans of the books will know the significance of the west coast within Rick Riordan’s world of mythology. Located on the north end of The Golden State is Camp Jupiter, the home of the Roman demigods. These children of Jupiter, Mars, Neptune, and more are kept separate from Camp Half-Blood in order to prevent in-fighting, as the last time the two camps clashed, the American Civil War broke out.

Even though two camps don’t officially meet until halfway through the Heroes of Olympus series, the Percy Jackson show could tease the rival group’s presence by scattering some purple SPQR shirts across the California-based episodes. 

Tristian McLean Movie Poster

Speaking of Heroes of Olympus, if this show really wants to get its Marvel Studios on, it could begin planting seeds that won’t sprout for years. The easiest of those comes with Tristian McLean, an in-universe movie star and former flame of Aphrodite. Tristian’s daughter, Piper McLean, is introduced in Heroes of Olympus: The Lost Hero and goes on to become a core character throughout that sequel series.

While there’s no guarantee that a Heroes of Olympus series even makes it to Disney+, alluding to it with a simple movie poster feels inconsequential. Considering this first season’s quest takes the main trio of Percy, Annabeth, and Grover to Los Angeles, it would make sense that a Tristian McLean “King of Sparta” billboard would be present somewhere along the demigods’ journey.

Thalia’s Tree

The first three Percy Jackson books introduce one child of each of the big three Greek gods. Percy Jackson, the son of Poseidon, debuts in The Lightning Thief, Thalia Grace, the daughter of Zeus, debuts in The Sea of Monsters, and the aforementioned children of Hades come in The Titan’s Curse. That said, if Nico and Bianca get teased in Season 1, there’s reason to believe that Thalia won’t be far behind.

Before the events of The Lightning Thief, Thalia was mortally wounded by monsters when returning to Camp Half-Blood. Instead of dying, Thalia was transformed into a pine tree, which created a magical border around the home of Greek demigods. Thalia is mentioned in passing in The Lightning Thief, but if Season 1 really wants to set up the events of The Sea of Monsters for a sequel, showing a clear shot of Thalia’s Tree would go a long way.

Delta Symbols

With Easter eggs alluding to both The Sea of Monsters and The Titan’s Curse covered, it’s only fair that The Battle of the Labyrinth gets in on the fun. Again, there are no guarantees that this live-action adaptation makes it to a fourth season, but sneaking references to future plans only helps build the world further.

The easiest allusion to the fourth book’s events is by scattering some Delta symbols across the cross-country quest. These Δ‘s mark entrances to the Labyrinth, Daedalus’s underground maze used to trap the Minotaur. Entrances to the self-aware maze are found all over the United States, and with the Labyrinth constantly expanding, there are no limitations on where passageways could pop up.

What other Easter eggs will you look out for in Disney+’s Percy Jackson? Let me know on Twitter, @LiamTCrowley!