Percy Jackson is Coming to D23 Expo: What Can Fans Expect?

By Liam Crowley

Percy Jackson and the Olympians has called Vancouver home for the past three months, but its set to take a little vacation next weekend. As confirmed on D23.com today, Percy Jackson will be among nearly a dozen Disney+ projects that will be present at the Disney Television Panel at D23 Expo. Author Rick Riordan, who is serving as an executive producer on the series, will be present alongside some unnamed "special guests." It's worth noting that among the Disney+ projects, Percy Jackson is the only one set to have "special guests," indicating that there might be big surprises in store for the upcoming serialized live-action reboot.

Riordan shared the news on his Twitter, teasing something big related to the unannounced portion of the panel.

"The Sept. 10 Disney-branded TV Disney D23 Expo Showcase will include 'Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Executive producer and author Rick Riordan and special guests,'" Riordan wrote. "Wonder what that could mean..."

Considering D23 Expo has been home to some major announcements before, such as Ewan McGregor's return to Star Wars for Obi-Wan Kenobi, there's a good chance that something monumental will go down with Percy Jackson. While a trailer is likely still in the distant future, as Riordan told fans earlier this month that footage might not come until next August, there remains a couple of significant possibilities.

New Official Images

The first official image from Percy Jackson is not even a month old, but it remains a very small piece of a massive puzzle. Celebrating Percy's canonical birthday, the show released a snapshot of Walker Scobell, Leah Jeffries, and Aryan Simhadri together on set, only revealing that Simhadri's Grover was sporting some baby satyr horns.

More stills could give fans a first glimpse at Charlie Bushnell's Luke Castellan, the son of Hermes who goes on to have a pivotal part in the five-book series, the set-up of Camp Half-Blood, or even some on-location images from recent production weeks.

Concept Art

Perhaps the likeliest outcome, fans are due for some sketches of what is about to be realized in live-action. Fellow Disney properties like Marvel and Star Wars have never been shy about showing hand-drawn ideas at events like these, and considering concept art is all hypothetical, it would solely spark imaginative discussions rather than spoil too much of the surprises.

With signs pointing to the recent Westminster Pier Park shoot being home to Percy's famous battle with Echidna and the Chimera from The Lightning Thief, Riordan and company could show off sketches of what that Gateway Arch showdown will look like. Even more likely is a layout of Camp Half-Blood, as a good bulk of this series will take place at that haven for Greek demigods. Another sketched location could be Mount Olympus, as even though the series only ventures there briefly, recent teases from the Empire State Building Twitter account indicate something is coming eventually.

Casting Announcements

Despite being three months into production, there has been no word on who will be playing the gods that sit atop Mount Olympus. Jason Mantzoukas (Brooklyn Nine-Nine) is confirmed to be portraying Dionysus, the Greek god of wine that supervises Camp Half-Blood, but the likes of Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades remain unknown.

Bringing out the actors for the Big Three, those being Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades, would immediately skyrocket Percy Jackson's momentum even higher than it was before. Other gods, namely Ares, would be even bigger in theory, as the god of war has a major role in multiple chapters of The Lightning Thief.

Considering most of the gods have minimal scenes in The Lightning Thief, and the series as a whole for that matter, enlisting A-List talent is accomplishable. On top of that, casting known movie stars as the gods alongside up-and-coming young talent for the half-bloods would emphasize to audiences the power dynamic in this universe, the same way that 1917 brought in decorated thespians like Benedict Cumberbatch and Richard Madden to play the lieutenants while relative unknowns George MacKay and Dean-Charles Chapman portrayed the lance corporals.

While it's still very much a reach, and there's every chance that Percy Jackson wants to save the casting reveals of the gods for the show itself, the stars might be aligning for D23 to debut the Olympians. After all, who else could be those "special guests?"

Percy Jackson and the Olympians will be part of D23 on Saturday, September 10th.

0comments
Start the Conversation

of