Percy Jackson Returns to ILM's Volume Stage: Filming Underworld or Olympus Scenes?
Percy Jackson and the Olympians production is reaching the end of its fifth month of production. The streaming adaptation of Rick Riordan's best-selling novel has been filming in Vancouver since June, shooting scenes that have taken the episodic show up to "about up to chapter sixteen" of The Lightning Thief as of October 9th. While that only leaves six chapters to shoot over the final 13 weeks of production, that last chunk of text includes some of the most crucial moments in Percy's first quest, including trips to the Lotus Casino, the Underworld, and Mount Olympus.
There's no indication as to when or where those particular locations will be shot, but series executive producer Becky Riordan recently revealed that Percy Jackson filmed with Industrial Light & Magic's Volume earlier this week.
"By now fans realize that we don't shoot on the Volume stage everyday but when we do it is always a special day. Today is one of those days," Becky wrote earlier this week. "Thanks Percy Jackson series and ILM VFX teams!"
Based on the heavily-fantastical locations that exist in those final six chapters, Percy Jackson is likely bringing either Underworld or Olympus content to life with the StageCraft. The series has ventured to locations like Westminster Pier Park and Simon Fraser University, but one of its centerpieces for production has been ILM's Volume in Vancouver as a bulk of this show will feature virtually-created set pieces. As ILM Senior Vice President and General Manager Janet Lewin told ComicBook.com's Liam Crowley earlier this year, Percy Jackson is utilizing "all the bells and whistles" of its brand-new Volume.
"For Percy Jackson, this has been an incredible partnership with 20th and the filmmaking team. They are using the Volume in a similar way to The Mandalorian," Lewin said. "It is a run-of-show project. It's not just a couple of sequences. It's not just a pick-up shoot or an installation. They are trying to leverage all of the bells and whistles that come with a fully tricked out extra large Volume."
Rick previously noted that post-production will take "almost an entire year." Fortunately for this series, the Volume expedites a significant portion of the post-production process, as the massive virtual screen allows for CGI landscapes to be created ahead of time. This also allows the actors in said scenes to interact with the virtual locations that they are put in rather than being solely surrounded by green screen.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians is set to stream on Disney+ in 2024.