James Bobin, who directed the film Dora and the Lost City of Gold, is set to direct the pilot of Disney+’s upcoming TV series based on the Percy Jackson novels from author Rick Riordan. The announcement was made via Riordan’s blog, where the writer expressed excitement about the prospect of seeing what Bobin does with the characters. This is far from the first time Bobin has taken on a project with high expectations. In addition to Dora, Bobin directed Alice Through the Looking Glass as well as 2011’s The Muppets and its 2014 follow-up Muppets Most Wanted.
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On the original content front, Bobin worked with Sacha Baron Cohen to develop Borat and Ali G, as well as working on Flight of the Conchords. He recently helmed the pilot for The Mysterious Benedict Society.
“Our pilot director will be James Bobin, who is both a terrific person and an incredibly talented director who checks all the boxes we were hoping for in a partner,” Riordan wrote on his blog.
In January, Rick Riordan shared a lengthy update, revealing studio executives loved the pilot script he helped to write. He first announced a Percy Jackson series in the works last May.
“For the past decade, you’ve worked hard to champion a faithful on-screen adaptation of Percy Jackson’s world. Some of you have even suggested it would be a great series for Disney+. We couldn’t agree more!” the novelist said at the time.
The character has been adapted to the screen before in a pair of movies, one of which had a rewrite from Arrow and LA Law writer/producer Marc Guggenheim. Fans of the books weren’t into the movies — and neither, apparently, was Riordan.
“We can’t say much more at this stage but we are very excited about the idea of a live-action series of the highest quality, following the storyline of the original Percy Jackson five-book series, starting with The Lightning Thief in season one. Rest assured that Becky and I will be involved in person in every aspect of the show. There will be much more news in the future, but for now, we have a lot of work to do! Buckle up, demigods. It’s going to be a fantastic exciting ride!”
Percy Jackson and the Olympians has yet to set a release date.
